Barcelona’s interest highlights Flick’s determination to recruit a specialist left-footed defender capable of building attacks from deep. The club had explored a move for Bastoni, but financial and sporting considerations forced them to look elsewhere. That leaves Barcelona facing a difficult challenge if they want to land Hincapie.
Should Arsenal complete the permanent transfer, any future negotiations would likely have to take place directly with the north London club rather than Leverkusen. Blaugrana have already shown a willingness to spend heavily this summer following their reported €70 million deal for Gordon. However, prising Hincapie away from Arsenal could prove significantly more complicated.