Arsenal's Riccardo Calafiori Plan B revealed

Tom Weber

Updated: 30 Jul 2024 11:39 BST
3 min read

Arsenal had looked at Piero Hincapie as an alternative to Riccardo Calafiori, according to a report.

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The Gunners have managed to sign their top defensive target. On Monday, Arsenal finally announced the signing of Italy star Calafiori in a €45 million deal.

The former Bologna defender was a player Mikel Arteta insisted on signing in recent weeks. Calafiori, it has been claimed, was not part of Arsenal's initial list of summer targets, but he put himself firmly in the spotlight at Euro 2024.

Whatever the case, Arsenal have signed a versatile, highly-rated defender to bolster the left side of their backline. However, negotiations with Bologna (and Basel, who were owed 50 per cent of Bologna's profit) were not easy, so the north London side also had a contingency plan in the event of failing to secure the signature of Calafiori.

Arsenal wanted Hincapie

According to The Athletic, Piero Hincapie is a player who was brought up by the Gunners' recruitment team in their search for a suitable player for their defence.

Like Calafiori, the Ecuadorian can play at left-back and left centre-back. However, there is a good chance he would have perhaps been more expensive than the Italian despite the fact that he did not quite have as impressive a season.

Though Bayer Leverkusen went unbeaten domestically last term, Hincapie only really won back his place in the side in the second half of the campaign, having initially lost out to the likes of Edmond Tapsoba, Odilon Kossounou and Jonathan Tah in Xabi Alonso's backline.

The Werkself are keen to keep their squad together this summer, so they would have placed a sizeable price tag on the 22-year-old. In addition to Hincapie, Arsenal also have a much-publicised appreciation of Ajax wonderkid Jorrel Hato, but his contract extension in March made a summer move unlikely.