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Arsenal could sell Myles Lewis-Skelly in the summer transfer window, with the left-back a potential casualty of sporting director Andrea Berta\u2019s decision regarding Piero Hincapie.<\/p>\n
Hincapie joined Arsenal<\/strong> on loan from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2025, with the Gunners having a buy option fixed for \u20ac52million (\u00a345m, $61m).<\/p>\n While it is still only the middle of March, Arsenal have already decided to make the 24-year-old defender\u2019s loan deal permanent.<\/p>\n Our friends at TEAMtalk reported on February 24, 2026, that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been impressed with Hincapie, with the Gunners \u2018preparing\u2019 to keep him on a permanent deal.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano<\/em> revealed that Hincapie will be the first signing for Arsenal sporting director Berta in the summer of 2026.<\/p>\n Romano said on his YouTube channel<\/em>:\u00a0\u201cYes, Piero Hincapie will be the first signing for Arsenal in summer 2026.<\/p>\n READ: Bruno Fernandes should NOT win award after hypocritical Arsenal \u2018lesson\u2019 learned with baffling Guehi take<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt was always planned like this.\u00a0If you remember with David Raya and Brentford, Arsenal did something similar a few years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, signed a player on loan with a buy-out option clause but was always going to be a permanent transfer in the following summer, that\u2019s what\u2019s going to happen also with Piero Hincapie.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is already everything signed between Hincapie and Arsenal in terms of contract, a five-year deal.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, it\u2019s already signed and completed. Piero Hincapie already feels as an Arsenal player on a permanent transfer.<\/p>\n \u201cBayer Leverkusen will receive a total package of \u20ac52million and Bayer Leverkusen will also keep a 10% sell-on clause for Piero Hincapie. So, this is the agreement.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Declan Rice now odds-on favourite to win PFA Player of the Year award<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cEverything will be formally announced at the very end of the season because obviously, in terms of Financial Fair Play, this was a gentleman\u2019s agreement between Bayer Leverkusen and Arsenal.\u201d<\/p>\n Hincapie is a versatile defender who can operate as a central defender or as a left-back.<\/p>\n The 24-year-old Ecuador international has played 14 times as a left-back for Arsenal this season.<\/p>\n Riccardo\u00a0Calafiori is another option for Arsenal manager Arteta at left-back and has made 22 appearances in that role this season.<\/p>\n TEAMtalk has reported that Arsenal will not sell Calafiori in the summer transfer window, which is bad news for Myles Lewis-Skelly<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Lewis-Skelly has broken into the Arsenal first team after coming through the academy and is a Hale End graduate.<\/p>\n While the 19-year-old has played 14 times in the Premier League this season, only one of them has come as a starter.<\/p>\n According to The Times<\/em>Lewis-Skelly is one of the players at Arsenal whose future is in doubt.<\/p>\n The report has noted: \u2018There are doubts about the futures of Gabriel Martinelli, 24, who has two years left on his deal, and the academy products Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri due to their potential for regular starts.<\/p>\n \u2018Arteta loves Kai Havertz, 26, and his captain Martin Odegaard, 27, but both players are set for contract talks with two years left on their deals.\u2019<\/p>\n The Times<\/em> has added that Ben White and Christian Norgaard \u2018may be upgraded\u2019, too.<\/p>\n Regarding Lewis-Skelly, it would be a particularly bitter blow for the left-back if he were to be offloaded.<\/p>\n The left-back starred for Arsenal against Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals last season and has started six times in Europe\u2019s premier club competition so far this campaign.<\/p>\n Lewis-Skelly has also earned six caps for England, and there is no doubt that he has a bright future.<\/p>\n The Arsenal left-back has been linked with Chelsea in the past, and former Blues player Jason Cundy believes that the future is bleak for the teenager at the Emirates Stadium.<\/p>\n Cundy said about Lewis-Skelly on talkSPORT<\/em> (10:44pm, March 16, 2026): \u201cThe thing about Lewis-Skelly \u2013 he might have to leave.<\/p>\n \u201cHincapie, if they sign him permanently, Hincapie, you have got Calafiori, where\u2019s Lewis-Skelly going to go?<\/p>\n \u201cHis international career, he could be going to the World Cup. He is not going to the World Cup now.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have got Lewis Hall in there. You have got Nico O\u2019Reilly at left-back.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you saw Lewis-Skelly make his debut for England, he could go and play 100 caps.<\/p>\n \u201cI wonder if Arsenal might think about selling him, based on Hincapie.\u201d<\/p>\n Former Arsenal striker Alan Smith, too, has tipped Lewis-Skelly to leave the Gunners <\/strong>this summer.<\/p>\n Smith said earlier this month: \u201cIt\u2019s been a really difficult season for Myles Lewis-Skelly, hasn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s behind two players, really, for the left-back slot.<\/p>\n \u201cIf he did get a chance, I\u2019d quite like to see him in midfield. That\u2019s his position.<\/p>\n \u201cJust see how he fares there. He\u2019s not the best of defenders, so it suits him better in midfield. He\u2019s really creative.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019ll probably be a shop window for him. I think there\u2019s every chance he might leave in the summer. We\u2019ll see on that.\u201d<\/p>\n READ NEXT: Big Midweek: Barca v Newcastle, Liverpool, Guardiola, Dowman\u2026 Newport<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n