Arsenal have exercised the purchase option in Piero Hincapié’s loan agreement, securing the Ecuador international on a five-year contract that runs until 2031. The deal, confirmed by the club on Thursday, will take effect from 1 July and is valued at £34.5 million, according to financial disclosures reported by British and Indonesian outlets. Hincapié spent the 2025/26 season on loan from Bayer Leverkusen and became a central figure in Mikel Arteta’s side as they ended a 22-year wait for the Premier League title.

The 24-year-old arrived in north London during the closing stages of the previous summer window and initially provided cover across the back line. By the season’s decisive phase, however, he had established himself as the preferred left-back, starting crucial league fixtures against Manchester City and Burnley, as well as the Champions League semi-final and final against Paris Saint-Germain. Across all competitions he made 39 appearances, 20 of them league starts, and contributed to a defensive unit that conceded only 27 goals — the division’s best record.

Before his move to England, Hincapié was part of the Leverkusen squad that won the 2023/24 Bundesliga without losing a match. He began his professional career at Independiente del Valle in Ecuador, moved to Argentina’s Talleres de Córdoba in 2020, and then to Germany, where he made 166 appearances for Leverkusen. South American coverage notes that he has now earned 54 senior caps for Ecuador and is competing at his fourth major tournament.

Hincapié is currently on international duty at the World Cup, where Ecuador’s campaign hangs in the balance. He started both group-stage matches so far — a 1–0 defeat to Ivory Coast and a goalless draw with Curaçao — and is expected to feature again when his side faces Germany in the final Group E fixture. Ecuador must win to retain any chance of reaching the knockout rounds.

The permanent transfer makes Hincapié Arsenal’s first summer acquisition, following a window a year ago in which the club spent more than £250 million on seven players. Once his World Cup commitments conclude, he will return to London to continue competing for a starting role under Arteta, with the Champions League final start already a marker of his standing in the squad.