Arsenal have confirmed they have signed Piero Hincapi on a long-term deal and he is expected to remain at the Emirates Stadium despite interest from Spain
Pierrot Hincapie will remain at Arsenal this summer after signing a long-term contract
Arsenal believe Piero Hincapi is a key figure in their plans after triggering a contract option on the Ecuadorian international.
Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona have been monitoring the 24-year-old in recent months, but he is not for sale after penning a long-term deal with the Gunners.
Mirror Football understands that Real Madrid’s chief scout Juni Calafat was at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field to watch Hincapie play in the World Cup match against Ivory Coast on June 14.
Interestingly, he had a tough night playing against Liverpool’s wide target Yann Diomande. Yann Diomande used his speed to cause huge problems for Arsenal’s versatile left-backs.
Calafat attended several World Cup matches to check out potential targets. He also visited New Jersey on June 13 to watch Ayyoub Bouadi, who is also respected by the Gunners, represent Morocco in a 1-1 draw with Brazil.
Los Blancos are considering adding a new left-sided centre-back to Jose Mourinho’s squad following the departure of David Alaba.
Hincapie is highly rated, but Arsenal are reportedly not interested in selling him, with other options also on their shortlist, including Manchester City’s Ruben Dias.
Real Madrid are thought to have made inquiries with Riccardo Calafioli’s agent Alessandro Lucci at the start of the season before signing Marc Cucurella from Chelsea, but their interest was not followed up.
Hincapie, who played 41 games in all competitions for the Premier League champions last season, joined the Gunners for a deposit of £34.45 million (approximately €40 million) plus bonuses of £5.17 million (approximately JPY 600 million) after an impressive loan spell with N5.
Piero Hincapie joins Arsenal on a permanent transfer from Bayer Leverkusen (Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC)
Arsenal agreed a loan fee of £5.17 million (6 million euros) with Leverkusen during contract negotiations last summer. Additionally, Bundesliga teams will now have a 10 percent sell-on clause.
Thursday was certainly a productive day for Hincapie. After first announcing his permanent transfer to Arsenal, he helped Ecuador advance to the World Cup Round of 32 with a 2-1 victory over Kai Havertz’s Germany at MetLife Stadium.
Mikel Arteta’s side also had their eye on German left-back Nathaniel Brawn, who is set to join Bayern Munich in a £47.35m deal from Eintracht Frankfurt, but there was never any chance of a bid.
They still have plenty of left-back talent, but Myles Lewis-Skelly looks set to make a full move into midfield.
Hincapie and Calafioli will also be needed as cover at center back next season to ease the workload on manager Gabriel Magalhães after a tough 63-game season.
Leverkusen said in a club statement on Thursday: “The terms of the purchase option have been fulfilled and defender Hincapie will now continue his career with the London club in the Premier League for the next few years.”
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