Arsenal are looking to pile more misery on rivals Tottenham Hotspur by winning the race for Bayer Leverkusen star Piero Hincapie, amid crucial updates from the likes of David Ornstein and Fabrizio Romano.
Arsenal have already completed one brutal hijack on Tottenham this summer, capturing Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace in a £67.5million deal. Spurs had been in advanced talks for Eze but the attacking midfielder soon chose Arsenal after learning of their interest.
The Gunners moved for Eze following an injury to Kai Havertz, with the England star penning an initial four-year contract at the Emirates.
Spurs could miss out on another top target as they face intense competition from Arsenal for Ecuador defender Hincapie.
TEAMtalk revealed on Monday morning that Spurs are seriously considering a move for Hincapie, who is open to leaving Leverkusen this summer and moving to the Premier League.
Sources confirmed to us that Arsenal have also scouted the versatile star, who can operate as a centre-half or left-back. Plus, Chelsea have explored his potential signing.
Ornstein has backed up our reporting on Arsenal being interested in Hincapie, with Mikel Arteta’s side now ramping up the move.
Ornstein reports that Arsenal are ‘working to sign Hincapie’ after the player told Leverkusen of his desire to leave.
The 23-year-old is ‘prioritising Arsenal’ over his other options, just like Eze.
Hincapie has a €60m (£52m) release clause in his contract but Arsenal are working hard to sign him for a lower price.
As per Ben Jacobs, Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta is ‘set to bid for Hincapie’. He adds that Hincapie ‘favours a move to the Emirates Stadium over Spurs’.
Romano states that Arsenal have made an ‘official approach’ to Leverkusen to kickstart a deal.
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Another Spurs move could be destroyed by Arsenal
Spurs have already sent Leverkusen a loan offer that includes an obligation to buy that matches Hincapie’s exit clause, while also opening talks with the defender’s camp. However, Spurs are now at serious risk of missing out on him to Arsenal.
It emerged earlier on Monday that Arsenal could complete an eighth signing of the summer if Jakub Kiwior and Oleksandr Zinchenko leave, with a new left-sided defender in their sights.
Hincapie has now emerged as their main target.
Kiwior looks set to make room for Hincapie in the Arsenal squad. Porto had a bid for the Poland international rejected in July and are set to return with a new loan-to-buy offer worth over €20m (£17m).
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