The Gunners are looking too add a versatile defender to their squad and their search has taken them to a Bundesliga title-winner

Even though he doesn't turn 24 until the beginning of 2026, Piero Hincapie has played over 200 senior matches in his career thus far. He has been an outstanding performer across two continents, three international tournaments and already filled his personal trophy cabinet with a credible assortment of individual and team honours. This is the sort of player that teams will happily break the bank for.

For the last four seasons, Hincapie has become one of the more familiar faces in a Bayer Leverkusen side who have conquered Germany and proven a worthy adversary to Bayern Munich. However, with a week left of the summer transfer window, he is looking for a new challenge for 2025-26 and beyond.

On Monday morning, Arsenal were first credited with an interest in Hincapie in their search for a new left-sided defender. On paper, you can see why the Gunners would want to add a player of his skillset and character, even if he would be far from a guaranteed starter at the Emirates Stadium.

So who is Hincapie, why are Arsenal in for him and what could he bring to Mikel Arteta's side? GOAL has the lowdown on the versatile Ecuadorian…

Getty ImagesWhere it all began

Hincapie was born on January 9, 2002, in the port city of Esmeraldas in Ecuador. Officially, his family surname is 'Hincapié', with the accent on the 'e' lesser seen on his home continent of South America. Later in his life, Hincapie was heralded as the 'lad with an unusual name' and it was seen as a reason as to why he was even more recognisable at youth level.

"There were good and difficult times. My parents always very much looked after me and my two brothers and sisters," he told Leverkusen's website. "We did well and we had a meal on the table every evening. That's not a given in Ecuador and I'm grateful that I never had to go to sleep on an empty stomach. Sometimes there was a lack of food in Guayaquil. But, thank God, I was always very well."

Having spent time bouncing around five different academies and boarding schools all over Ecuador, Hincapie finally settled on Independiente del Valle in 2016 and would spend three years in their youth system before making his senior debut in 2019. During this time, he continued turning out for Independiente's Under-20s, and in his final year at the club helped them lift the U20 Copa Libertadores.

By this point, the rest of South America had clocked on to Hincapie's talent and he received a smattering of offers to leave his home country. In the end, he opted for Argentine top-flight side Talleres, joining them in August 2020 for $1 million.

AdvertisementAFPThe big break

Talleres, like Independiente, discovered that playing Hincapie in the first team and exposing him to adult football meant they weren't going to be able to keep hold of him for very long. Indeed, he ended up wearing the shirt of Los Matadores only 22 times before being sold on again.

Europe was calling, and Bayer Leverkusen were at the front of the queue. They had a rich history of plucking South American talent from the source and turning them into superstars – Arturo Vidal and Renato Augusto were the most recent examples of using the BayArena as a gateway to the rest of the continent. Almost a year to the day after joining Talleres, Hincapie signed for Leverkusen in August 2021 as a 19-year-old.

"I spoke to my family, to myself, to God – and I opted for Bayer 04. I have great respect for the country and the language and my family had always emphasised that a lot of Latinos play here – and some of them for many years. That was an important reason. Because if they stay here for a long time then they must feel at home," was his explanation for picking Leverkusen.

There wasn't much of a bedding-in period for Hincapie in Germany, as he immediately featured 33 times in all competitions during his debut season. In the Bundesliga, only five other teenagers – Jude Bellingham, Josko Gvardiol, Joe Scally, Armel Bella-Kotchap and Florian Wirtz – clocked more minutes than he did as Leverkusen finished third.

Hincapie did not come to Germany alone, however. A family man, he brought along his older brother and was determined to help his relatives back home in Ecuador. "I'm suddenly earning much more money for our circumstances," he's said. "That's not so important to me because I just want to play football, but now I have the chance to help my family. Of course, I allow myself something as well, but the most important thing for me is to be able to give something back to my parents and everybody else and that I can ensure that they have a comfortable life. My nanna's income isn't enough to live on. When everybody is looked after then I can also allow myself a couple of expensive things. 'La felizidad no se compra' – you can't buy happiness."

Shortly prior to joining Leverkusen, Hincapie represented the Ecuador senior side at his first international tournament, the 2021 Copa America. By the time the 2022 World Cup rolled around, he was one of their more established players and household names.

AFPHow it's going

When Xabi Alonso was appointed Leverkusen boss in October 2022, that's when the club's transformation truly began, and Hincapie was of the perfect age to benefit from the revolution. Alonso moved the team away from the four-at-the-back formations they had relied heavily upon under predecessor Gerardo Seoane to a 3-4-3 that would yield unparalleled success in the club's history.

That suited Hincapie down to a tee. He had the robust physicality, youthful athleticism and aggressive hunger to play as either the left-sided centre-back, galloping forward into midfield and down the wing, or as the wing-back that was effectively a faux winger, such was his attacking prowess.

Hincapie made 43 appearances in each of Leverkusen's 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, the latter of which saw them win the club's maiden Bundesliga title and go unbeaten in all matches bar one, the Europa League final defeat to Atalanta. In Alonso's final year, Hincapie managed to up his appearance count even further, turning out 45 times under a manager who developed him from a diamond in the rough into a solid starter.

Alas, Alonso left Leverkusen this summer to take up the main job at Real Madrid. Since Erik ten Hag was sworn in as his successor at the BayArena, Leverkusen have seen quite the exodus, with Granit Xhaka's surprise decision to join newly-promoted Sunderland in the Premier League the most telling sign that all is not quite right in North Rhine-Westphalia. Hincapie is likely the next big name to depart the club, and England is set to be his destination too.

Getty ImagesBiggest strengths

The left-footed centre-back has become one of the rarest profiles at football's top level. You can find plenty of right-footers who can do the job, but for some reason there is, and almost always has been, a shortage of lefties. That's part of the appeal behind Hincapie, who is uncompromising in his style at both ends of the pitch.

"I think he's a very modern defender," Alonso said of Hincapie in the recent past. "He can play in different positions. He's served us as a full-back, but has also been the left centre-back when we've played with a back three. He's aggressive, is making better decisions when he has the ball, backs himself more to play diagonal passes and get in behind. It motivates me to have a player with his potential and desire because he helps you and you help him. He's a great player."

Hincapie will scarcely refuse an opportunity to vacate his natural position and take up one further up the pitch. His bravery extends beyond rushing into tackles, but also comes out in his willingness to take on all comers with the ball at his feet too. In Alonso's system, he made a habit of finding pockets in the left half-space to sprint into and deliver crosses. That said, he is equally capable of staying back and spreading play from deep as well, and either way is more than comfortable in possession wherever that may be.

Of course, there is also much to be said for his defending, and he has succeeded in duels against some of the game's greatest names. "Piero battles on an equal footing with world-class players like Lionel Messi and Mo Salah. He's earned that respect from around the world," Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes said last December.