Arsenal have agreed a deal with Bayer Leverkusen to sign Piero Hincapie on a season-long loan with an option to buy.
The package is worth £45m and the Ecuador international has been given permission to travel for a medical this weekend.
A five-year contract has been agreed with the 23-year-old if the option is triggered.
The Hincapie deal will accelerate Porto’s move for Jakub Kiwior.
The deal for the Poland international is a loan with an obligation to buy and is worth £24m.
Is Arsenal move a surprise?
South American football expert Tim Vickery on Sky Sports News’ Transfer Talk:
“Hincapie is a left-footed defender, he’s a centre-back who can also play at left-back as well.
“He’s not a flyer-up-the-wing kind of left-back. He likes to bring the ball out of the defence.
“I remember the first time I saw him in Ecuador, they threw him in as a teenager, and I had had my doubts.
“I thought too spindly, maybe, and he’s got mistakes in him. It’s been great to be proved wrong, because he’s grown and grown and really is a terrific defender.
“My little doubt here is, why would Arsenal want to spend so much for a player in this position when they have both Gabriel Magalhaes and [Riccardo] Calafiori? So you’ve got cover there in both the positions that Hincapie offers.
“It’s a little bit of a surprise to me why it’s Arsenal, and based on what we’ve seen so far in the season, you would have thought that this is a player Liverpool could really do with.”
Saka injury concern as Arsenal prepare for huge Liverpool clash
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Mikel Arteta admitted Liverpool are considered ‘favourites’ for the Premier League title but Arsenal have to come and take their crown
Mikel Arteta admitted Bukayo Saka’s hamstring injuries are a big concern as Arsenal prepare to face champions Liverpool without their talisman on Super Sunday.
Saka, who missed a three-month period of last season due to an injury to his right hamstring, was forced off after feeling something in his left hamstring during Arsenal’s 5-0 win over Leeds.
The 23-year-old has avoided the need for surgery on this occasion, with the injury not as bad as first feared, but he will play no part at Anfield and has also been omitted from the England squad.
Martin Odegaard is also a doubt for the match on Sunday, live on Sky Sports Premier League.
