Sporting Director now really doesn’t want his ‘aggressive’ player to sign for Arsenal

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Arsenal might struggle to get one transfer over the line before the window closes if the rival club have their way. 

It’s been a summer that some Arsenal fans could’ve only dreamed about, with seven quality additions joining Mikel Arteta’s squad. 

For a moment, it looked as though six would be the limit for the Gunners, who had turned their attention to sales, but then Eberechi Eze arrived. 

It has since become clear that Eze might not represent Andrea Berta’s final incoming of the summer, as Arsenal want to sign Piero Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen. 

• READ MORE: Arsenal fans think Andrea Berta has just made a mistake in the transfer window, ‘what are we doing’

Bayer Leverkusen respond to Arsenal’s interest in Piero Hincapie

The plan to sign Hincapie on an initial loan with the obligation to buy for £52m has been reported in Germany, but the deal isn’t easy to complete.

Firstly, Arsenal want to seal Jakub Kiwior’s exit to FC Porto, with the desire to sign Hincapie coming as a result of the Pole’s pending departure.

The second issue is that Bayer Leverkusen don’t want to sell the centre-back, as their sporting director, Simon Rolfes, explained when speaking to Sport.de.

Not only did Rolfes state that Leverkusen haven’t received an offer from any club for the defender, but he stood firm on the fact that the German side want him to stay.

“We still haven’t received an official offer from any club, so he’s our player; that’s the status quo,” he said.

“He knows that we value him highly and would like to see him continue with us.”

Xabi Alonso valued Hincapie as an ‘aggressive’ player in his squad, with Erik ten Hag also benefiting from the Ecuadorian’s presence. 

Keeping the 23-year-old on side is a different task, however, as it’s understood that Hincapie wants to join Arsenal amid building interest. 

What is Hincapie’s market value?

Arsenal see Hincapie as a replacement for Kiwior, but the Leverkusen defender’s services won’t come cheap. 

The German side are standing firm on their desire to have the player’s €60m release clause met, a fee that currently is €10m above his market value.

Arsenal want to pay closer to his market value, which, according to Transfermarkt, sits at €50m, rising from €13m at the time of Hincapie’s arrival at Leverkusen in 2021. 

The Bundesliga giants know that they have a highly rated player with huge potential on their hands and are reluctant to let him leave for anything below their demands.