ARSENAL have reached an agreement with Bayer Leverkusen to sign defender Piero Hincapie.
The Gunners are set to loan the Ecuadorian, 23, for the season.
They then will have the option to buy him for £45million.
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Should they take it up, Hincapie will sign a five-year contract on signing permanently, with Arsenal including a 10 per cent sell-on clause in the deal.
The 46-cap Ecuador international is expected to travel to North London this weekend to undergo a medical.
He is set to become the latest signing in a big-spending summer for Mikel Arteta, who has already splashed more than £200m on the likes of Martin Zubimendi, Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyokeres and Eberechi Eze.
Like many of those names, it was a hard-fought battle to get the deal in place, as the Gunners competed with interest from London rivals Chelsea for his signature.
Hincapie has made over 150 appearances for Bayer Leverkusen despite being just 23.
The versatile defender is most commonly deployed as a centre-back.
However, Hincapie has demonstrated an ability to play as a full-back as well, providing Arteta with extra flexibility across the back line.
The Spaniard has a love for similarly versatile defenders, with current stars such as Riccardo Calafiori, Jurrien Timber and Ben White all having played in hybrid roles in their careers.
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The move coincides with the club reaching an agreement to sell defender Jakub Kiwior to move to Portuguese giants Porto for £23million.
Full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko is also expected to make an imminent move away from the club, with the Ukrainian currently holding talks with Marseille according to reports.
The signing will leave Arteta better equipped to rotate the back line as the Gunners set their sights on their elusive Premier League title.
Depth has been difficult to come by at the Emirates in recent years, with the first team being ravaged by injuries during their title challenge last season.
This campaign has started in much the same way, with Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka already picking up knocks, while Kai Havertz has had to undergo surgery on his knee.
