Arsenal and Tottenham are in a tussle for Bayer Leverkusen defender Piero Hincapie after approaches were made earlier in the day.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Piero Hincapie is the subject of interest from north London giants Arsenal and Tottenham. The latter had made the first approach on the day for the Ecuadorian defender, with Arsenal then making their move, with the defender leaning towards the latter.
Piero HIncapie could be the latest hot topic in north London following the conclusion of the Eberechi Eze chapter. In the case of the latter, Tottenham had an agreement in place with Crystal Palace for the playmaker, only for Arsenal to swoop in late to hijack the move under their rivals’ noses.
There might be a repeat of the situation following the events on Monday, as Fabrizio Romano reported an approach from Tottenham for Hincapie. The suggestion was a loan deal with a buy obligation worth the defender’s €60 million release clause in his Bayer Leverkusen contract.
Within the next hour after the news broke out, Arsenal made an approach of their own for Hincapie as news surrounding Jakub Kiwior’s future picked up pace. The Gunners are ready to bring in the defender, but any move will depend on Kiwior’s exit from the club, as talks are underway with FC Porto.
Romano also addressed the fact that Hincapie had made his decision to leave the club and seek a new challenge elsewhere. Either of the north London sides will help him develop in his career, although it is Arsenal who might be the front runners in the race.
Arsenal are favourites to sign Piero Hincapie
Arsenal’s interest dates back a few years, and the club have kept monitoring the player over this period. Hincapie had Tottenham’s interest earlier this month, as Thomas Frank wanted to reinforce his left side of the defence with another key addition. Chelsea were also keen earlier, but they have since signed Jorrel Hato, and had briefly considered Hincapie as a replacement for the injured Levi Colwill.
As per David Ornstein, Hincapie favours a move to Arsenal over Spurs, which might be another big blow for Frank’s side. Should the Gunners get the defender, it will mirror the chase of Eze, where Spurs lost out to their north London rivals. Mikel Arteta probably views Hincapie as the ideal replacement for Kiwior and improve certain elements of his defensive setup, as he could then use Myles Lewis-Skelly as a midfielder.