Arsenal tipped to ‘sell’ Hale End gem as Andrea Berta completes ‘first’ summer signing | OneFootball

Arsenal could sell Myles Lewis-Skelly in the summer transfer window, with the left-back a potential casualty of sporting director Andrea Berta’s decision regarding Piero Hincapie.

Hincapie joined Arsenal on loan from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2025, with the Gunners having a buy option fixed for €52million (£45m, $61m).

While it is still only the middle of March, Arsenal have already decided to make the 24-year-old defender’s loan deal permanent.

Our friends at TEAMtalk reported on February 24, 2026, that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been impressed with Hincapie, with the Gunners ‘preparing’ to keep him on a permanent deal.

Earlier this month, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano revealed that Hincapie will be the first signing for Arsenal sporting director Berta in the summer of 2026.

Romano said on his YouTube channel: “Yes, Piero Hincapie will be the first signing for Arsenal in summer 2026.

“It was always planned like this. If you remember with David Raya and Brentford, Arsenal did something similar a few years ago.

“So, 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’s what’s going to happen also with Piero Hincapie.

“There is already everything signed between Hincapie and Arsenal in terms of contract, a five-year deal.

“So, it’s already signed and completed. Piero Hincapie already feels as an Arsenal player on a permanent transfer.

“Bayer Leverkusen will receive a total package of €52million and Bayer Leverkusen will also keep a 10% sell-on clause for Piero Hincapie. So, this is the agreement.

“Everything will be formally announced at the very end of the season because obviously, in terms of Financial Fair Play, this was a gentleman’s agreement between Bayer Leverkusen and Arsenal.”

Hincapie is a versatile defender who can operate as a central defender or as a left-back.

The 24-year-old Ecuador international has played 14 times as a left-back for Arsenal this season.

Riccardo Calafiori is another option for Arsenal manager Arteta at left-back and has made 22 appearances in that role this season.

TEAMtalk has reported that Arsenal will not sell Calafiori in the summer transfer window, which is bad news for Myles Lewis-Skelly.

Lewis-Skelly has broken into the Arsenal first team after coming through the academy and is a Hale End graduate.

While the 19-year-old has played 14 times in the Premier League this season, only one of them has come as a starter.

According to The Times, Lewis-Skelly is one of the players at Arsenal whose future is in doubt.

The report has noted: ‘There 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.

‘Arteta 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.’

The Times has added that Ben White and Christian Norgaard ‘may be upgraded’, too.

Regarding Lewis-Skelly, it would be a particularly bitter blow for the left-back if he were to be offloaded.

The left-back starred for Arsenal against Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals last season and has started six times in Europe’s premier club competition so far this campaign.

Lewis-Skelly has also earned six caps for England, and there is no doubt that he has a bright future.

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.

Cundy said about Lewis-Skelly on talkSPORT (10:44pm, March 16, 2026): “The thing about Lewis-Skelly – he might have to leave.

“Hincapie, if they sign him permanently, Hincapie, you have got Calafiori, where’s Lewis-Skelly going to go?

“His international career, he could be going to the World Cup. He is not going to the World Cup now.

“You have got Lewis Hall in there. You have got Nico O’Reilly at left-back.

“When you saw Lewis-Skelly make his debut for England, he could go and play 100 caps.

“I wonder if Arsenal might think about selling him, based on Hincapie.”

Smith said earlier this month: “It’s been a really difficult season for Myles Lewis-Skelly, hasn’t it?

“He’s behind two players, really, for the left-back slot.

“If he did get a chance, I’d quite like to see him in midfield. That’s his position.

“Just see how he fares there. He’s not the best of defenders, so it suits him better in midfield. He’s really creative.

“I think it’ll probably be a shop window for him. I think there’s every chance he might leave in the summer. We’ll see on that.”