Piero Hincapie and Mikel Arteta (Photo by Angel Martinez, Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Arsenal are on the verge of a deal to sign Bayer Leverkusen’s versatile Ecuador international defender Piero Hincapie, with Jakub Kiwior also set to leave.
According to two updates this morning from Fabrizio Romano, the Gunners are closing in on Hincapie, while Kiwior is also getting closer to finalising his move to Porto.
Romano says it will be ‘here we go’ soon for the Hincapie to Arsenal transfer, with the clubs just finalising the details of the payment structure for the deal.
Meanwhile, he also says things are moving closer for Kiwior to joining Porto on an initial loan which would include a €26m obligation to make the signing permanent.
See below for the details on Romano’s X page…
?? Understand Arsenal are closing in on Piero Hincapié deal with Bayer, here we go soon!
Agreement almost done as Bayer accept loan with obligation to buy for Hincapié as formula wanted by #AFC.
Details on fee structure being sorted and then here we go coming next. ????? pic.twitter.com/0MrASi53C4
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 29, 2025
?? FC Porto are closing in on Jakub Kiwior deal as Arsenal are on the verge of signing Piero Hincapié!
€26m package on loan with obligation to buy for Kiwior, being sealed right now with final details pending.
Here we go, soon. ???? pic.twitter.com/OuMiJ7ffoo
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 29, 2025
Arsenal getting through complicated Hincapie and Kiwior transfer sagas
Arsenal expert Charles Watts spoke to us earlier this week about the north London giants’ pursuit of Hincapie and how it was directly linked to Kiwior leaving.
Watts felt this looked like a slightly complicated double deal for the club, but it seems they’re now making progress on both.
“Arsenal’s interest in Piero Hincapie is directly linked to Porto’s attempts to sign Jakub Kiwior,” Watts told CaughtOffside.
“The recruitment team are understood to view the Ecuador international as the ideal replacement for Kiwior, should his move to Portugal go through before the end of the transfer window.
He added: “So at the time of writing this column it is still quite a complicated situation.”
Arsenal’s superb defensive depth
Overall, this looks like more fine business from Arsenal after a busy summer strengthening.
Even if Kiwior is leaving, Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera have both joined to give AFC plenty of depth at the back.
Hincapie can play centre-back or left-back to a high standard, just like Riccardo Calafiori, while Jurrien Timber could also fill in there if required.
On the right-hand side, there’s Timber, Ben White, and Mosquera as a possible option.
Meanwhile, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes have excellent cover in the form of Hincapie, Mosquera, as well as the likes of Timber, White and Calafiori if needed.
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