Gunners have agreed a fee of £45m for Bayer Leverkusen defender Piero Hincapie

Bayer Leverkusen defender Piero Hincapie has joined Arsenal on a season-long loan with a buyout option. If the Gunners choose to recruit the Ecuadorian international on a permanent basis next summer, they have agreed to pay £45 million (52 million euros).

After joining Leverkusen in 2021, Hincapie made 166 appearances across all competitions and was a member of the team that won the German Cup and Bundesliga in 2023–2024.

The 23-year-old, who will wear number five, is the ninth summer addition made by manager Mikel Arteta, following Eberechi Eze, Viktor Gyokeres, Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard, Noni Madueke, Kepa Arrizabalaga, and Cristhian Mosquera.

“Piero has a real physical presence, with his versatility and tactical flexibility giving us strong added defensive options,” Arteta stated on Arsenal’s website. “He has a lot of character and a great balance of youth and maturity. As the season progresses, he will strengthen and increase the competitiveness of our team.

Arsenal sign Hincapié on loan

The Premier League team announced on Monday that it has signed Ecuadorian defender Piero Hincapié from Bayer Leverkusen on a season-long loan. When Hincapié returns from international service, he will don the No. 5 shirt and join his new colleagues.

Fábio Vieira, who came from Porto for a £34 million deal in June 2022, has been out of contention after making 33 appearances in his first campaign and has now joined Hamburg on a season-long loan. Despite scoring the game-winning penalty in Arsenal’s 2023 Community Shield victory, he has only made 16 appearances since then. He also spent the previous season on loan at Porto.

Hincapie is thought to be a straight replacement for Polish defender Jakub Kiwior, who the Gunners have let sign a season-long loan to Porto.

A season-long loan for Portugal’s Fabio Vieira, who joined for £34.2 million from Porto in 2022, and a permanent transfer for an unknown amount for Belgium’s Sambi Lokonga have both left Arsenal for Hamburg, Germany.