Arsenal news: Mikel Arteta plotting move for Piero Hincapie as Tottenham Hotspur set to miss out
Arsenal are set to do the double over their North London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, with a move for Bayer Leverkusen defender Piero Hincapie.
The Gunners have already stolen Eberechi Eze from under Spurs’ noses this summer.
It has been a hugely successful start to the Premier League season on and off the pitch at the Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Arteta’s men earned a hard-fought 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford on the opening weekend.
While the North Londoners recently followed that result up with a 5-0 rout of Championship holders Leeds United, where Viktor Gyokeres finally got off the mark with a brace.
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Gunners eye Piero Hincapie
As Arsenal’s summer spending reaches close to £270million, it appears as though sporting director Andrea Berta is not done there.
According to Floian Plettenberg, the Gunners have been in contact with Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen over the signing of Hincapie.
The 23-year-old is understood to be unhappy at the BayArena and keen to leave Erik ten Hag’s side.
Leverkusen will insist that the Ecuadorian’s €60million release clause is met if any deal is to be struck.
Hincapie is reportedly very open to a move to N5 and likes the club a lot.
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Arsenal need to sell
That being said, any deal for Hincapie will heavily rely on departures at the Emirates Stadium, as per Fabrizio Romano.
Polish defender Jakub Kiwior appears to be the most likely to leave Arsenal, with Portuguese giants FC Porto keen.
Francesco Farioli’s side have reportedly sent a new proposal to North London, which is expected to be well over the €20million mark.
However, it is unknown whether this will be enough to tempt the Gunners into a sale, but the 25-year-old’s departure is considered key to a move for a new central defender.
Left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko is another who could leave Arsenal this summer.
Interest could be sparse, though, due to the Ukrainian’s huge £150,000-a-week wages.
The 28-year-old joined Arsenal in 2022 from Manchester City, but has since fallen out of favour following the emergence of Myles Lewis-Skelly and Riccardo Calafiori.
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Tottenham also keen on Piero Hincapie
Thomas Frank’s Spurs are also understood to be interested in Hincapie.
According to Romano, the Lilywhites have approached Bayer Leverkusen to sign the Ecuadorian on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy, worth €60million.
While the narrative of Arsenal getting another one over their arch rivals is mildly amusing, a move for Hincapie does not make a lot of sense from a Spurs perspective.
With James Maddison out for the foreseeable future with an awful ACL injury and Dejan Kulusevski sidelined with a knee issue, Tottenham are thought to be prioritising attacking reinforcements.
Ideally, Spurs would like to bring in a new attacking midfielder and winger, but with under a week to go until Deadline Day, how likely that is to happen is unknown.
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