Bayer Leverkusen defender Piero Hincapié is travelling to London in order to undergo a medical ahead of his prospective move to Arsenal, a source has told ESPN.
The agreement between the clubs, according to another source, was practically finalised on Saturday after Leverkusen accepted an initial loan proposal with a clause that will make the transfer permanent next summer. The player has already agreed the details of a contract at the north London club.
The 23-year-old was on the bench for his team's 3-3 draw with Werder Bremen on Saturday, but he took the opportunity to say goodbye to the Leverkusen fans following the full-time whistle.
Mikel Arteta has been key to the deal and, according to a source, called Xabi Alonso to ask for references, as the Real Madrid boss coached Hincapié during his time in charge of Leverkusen.
Alonso also had Hincapié on his list of potential signings for Real Madrid, but Madrid did not pursue a deal after the arrivals of Dean Huijsen and Álvaro Carreras.
Arsenal have already spent more than £250 million ($338m) in the summer window and cannot afford to sign Hincapié outright. Therefore, in recent days, they have been negotiating to convince their Leverkusen counterparts with an offer of a loan with the mandatory permanent clause.
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ESPN reported on Monday that Arsenal had made an approach to explore the possibility of signing Hincapié while negotiating the sale of Jakub Kiwior to Porto.
Leverkusen initially intended to keep hold of the centre-back and the club's initial response was to request the player's £51.9m release clause. However, Arsenal made it clear from the outset that they would not pay that amount and that they were more in favour of deferring the transfer fee to a later date.
Hincapié's willingness to leave Leverkusen to start a new adventure at Arsenal has been decisive in bringing the deal to fruition. Chelsea were also monitoring the player's situation.