Date: 20th May 2022 at 7:15pm
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Arsenal are eyeing a summer move for Bayer Leverkusen defender Piero Hincapie, according to reports…

THE LOWDOWN: HINCAPIE PROFILED

Hincapie made his professional debut for Independiente in August 2019, having earlier that year captained Ecuador to a fourth-place finish at the Under-17 South American Championship.

He would make only two further appearances for his boyhood club, however, before being snapped up by Argentine outfit Club Atletico Talleres in the summer of 2020.

Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Atletico Madrid were all linked with moves for Hincapie before Leverkusen sealed the deal, signing him up to a five-year contract.

Since his move, he has quickly adapted to life in the Bundesliga going on to make 27 appearances for Gerardo Seoane’s talented outfit as they impressively secured a Champions League spot for next season.

THE LATEST: VERY INTERESTED

According to French outlet Jenesfooteux, Arsenal are joined by Italian outfit AS Roma who are indeed very interested in acquiring the Columbian defender this summer.

The report goes on to state that no offer has yet been made but ‘contacts exist’ between the two clubs and the Ecuadorian international.

THE VERDICT: FANTASTIC SIGNING

The Esmeraldas-born centre back has enjoyed a tremendous breakthrough campaign for the BayArena outfit, his first season in European top-flight football.

Indeed, since his move to Germany, he ranks incredibly well amongst fellow centre-backs in Europe’s top five leagues. As per FBRef, the 16-time Ecuadorian international ranks in the top 11% of centre-backs for interceptions made (2.76), top ten percent for blocks (2.23) and is also very sound carrying the ball forward ranking in the top one percent for dribbles completed (0.87).

Amongst full-backs, when filling in at left-back for Leverkusen, he excels tremendously too, ranking in the top 3 percent for aerial duels won (2.72), top five percent for interceptions and top six percent for clearances (3.05) highlighting his raw and consummate attributes when defending.

The club’s managing director Rudi Völler described the young defender as “a ball winner, intelligent and technically gifted”, adding that he’s “a highly talented player”.

Hincapie’s ability to play either centre-back or left-back would provide Arteta with some much-needed defensive depth, so this could prove to be a fantastic signing for the north London club if they are able to attract him to the Emirates.

AND in other news, “Anything can happen” – £22.5m-rated “serious talent” addresses future amid PL links…

 

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