Arsenal are advancing with a late move for Bayer Leverkusen’s Piero Hincapié to improve their defence.
Late on Friday, David Ornstein reported Arsenal have reached an agreement with Bayer Leverkusen to sign the defender on loan with an option to buy. He also stated the overall fee is around €52m.
Sky Deutschland report Arsenal have already found an agreement for personal terms with the centre-back.
They have also agreed terms with the Erik ten Hag’s side to sign Hincapié on loan with an obligation to buy. The overall fee will be €52m and the German club will receive 10% of profit from a future sale.
The Ecuador international has a €60m release clause and Bayer Leverkusen have been demanding this fee to sanction a move.
Kicker report the German club hadn’t found an agreement with Arsenal as of Friday. They add the move will eventually go through, but for a fee less than his clause.
The 23-year-old, his agent and his former club, Talleres, are entitled to receive a percentage of the profit from his future sale. For the latter, it’s set at 20%.
To secure a move to the Emirates, Hincapié and his agent are ‘waiving their share’ of the fee from his future sale.
Kicker aren’t certain about the percentage, but say if’s it’s 10%, Hincapié and his agent will then give up €6m. This also means the percentage that Talleres are to receive will be lowered.
With these reductions, Bayer Leverkusen will be able to collect the fee that they wanted, and Arsenal can sign the Ecuador international for a lower price.
Kicker say Arsenal will pay a €6m loan fee and the purchase option will be converted into an obligation to buy in the next financial year, meaning after June 2026. It was reported earlier this week that such a structure suits Bayer Leverkusen financially because they’ve already brought in a fortune this summer and don’t need to add to that.