Arsenal’s loan deals involving Piero Hincapie and Jakub Kiwior contain the same unusual purchase clause, according to a report.
SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE: Jakub Kiwior of Arsenal looks on during the Pre-Season Friendly match between Arsenal FC and AC Milan at the National Stadium on July 23, 2025. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)
Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images
On transfer deadline day, Arsenal completed the incoming loan of Piero Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen and the outgoing loan of Jakub Kiwior to FC Porto.
The two deals very much depended on each other. Arsenal couldn’t afford to let Kiwior leave without a replacement, and they couldn’t afford to sign Hincapie unless Kiwior left.
James McNicholas reports for The Athletic that Arsenal tried to simplify matters by offering Kiwior to Leverkusen, but the German club weren’t interested. As a result, Andrea Berta had to carry out two negotiations in parallel.
arsenal fc v fulham fc premier league 4
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Ideally, Arsenal, FC Porto, and Leverkusen all wanted the two loans to turn permanent next summer.
Porto wanted to put off payment for Kiwior to 2026, Arsenal wanted the same for Hincapie, and Leverkusen had already made sufficient sales this summer that they would benefit from delaying this transfer to next year too.
Yet a permanent transfer or a loan with an obligation to buy would see all three clubs including the deal in this year’s accounts.
A loan with an option to buy would allow them to delay the deal until next year, but how do you guarantee a loan with an option really will turn permanent? What if Porto decide not to sign Kiwior, leaving Arsenal with an extra centre-back to shift and no transfer fee next summer?
McNicholas reports that Berta’s solution was to give both clubs an option to buy. If Arsenal don’t activate Hincapie’s option, Leverkusen can. If Porto don’t activate Kiwior’s option, Arsenal can.
LEVERKUSEN, GERMANY - DECEMBER 10: Piero Hincapie of Bayer 04 Leverkusen looks on during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD6 match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and FC Internazionale Milano at BayArena on December 10, 2024 in Leverkusen, Germany. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images
This does leave open the possibility that the deals don’t happen, if both Arsenal and Porto decided against activating the option for Kiwior’s transfer, for example. But that’s the entire point.
As long as there’s a possibility the deal won’t go through, the transfer isn’t guaranteed, so it doesn’t have to be accounted for in the current period.
Yet with both clubs holding an option to activate the purchase, it almost certainly will happen. Hincapie and Kiwior can effectively be considered permanent Arsenal and Porto players, even though the accounts won’t see it that way.
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