Arsenal transfer stance emerges after Real Madrid chief watches player at World Cup

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Arsenal consider Piero Hincapie to be a focal part of their plans after triggering their option to sign the Ecuador international.

Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona have monitored the 24-year-old in recent months, however, he is simply not for sale after penning a long-term contract with the Gunners.

Mirror Football understands Real Madrid's chief scout Juni Calafat was at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia to watch Hincapie in action at the World Cup against Ivory Coast on June 14.

Intriguingly, he had a rough evening against Liverpool wide target Yan Diomande, who utilised his speed to cause the versatile Arsenal left-back real problems down the channel.

Calafat has attended several World Cup matches to check on potential targets. He was also in New Jersey on June 13 to watch Ayyoub Bouaddi, whom the Gunners also admire, feature for Morocco in their 1-1 draw with Brazil .

Los Blancos are looking to add a new left-sided centre-back to Jose Mourinho's squad following David Alaba's departure.

Hincapie is firmly appreciated but as reported, Arsenal have no interest in a sale and other options are also on their shortlist, including Manchester City's Ruben Dias.

Real Madrid are believed to have lodged an enquiry with Riccardo Calafiori's agent Alessandro Lucci at the start of the window - prior to signing Marc Cucurella from Chelsea - but their interest was never followed up.

Hincapie, who made 41 appearances in all competitions for the Premier League champions last term, joins the Gunners for an initial £34.45m (€40m) plus £5.17m (€6m) in bonuses following an excellent loan spell in N5.

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Arsenal also agreed a £5.17m (€6m) loan fee with Leverkusen last summer when negotiating the deal; additionally, the Bundesliga outfit will have a 10 per cent sell-on clause moving forward.

Thursday was certainly a productive day for Hincapie. First his permanent transfer to Arsenal was announced before he helped Ecuador qualify for the Round of 32 of the World Cup with a 2-1 win over Kai Havertz's Germany at the MetLife Stadium.

Mikel Arteta's side had also tracked Germany left-back Nathaniel Brown, who is now set to join Bayern Munich from Eintracht Frankfurt in a £47.35m deal.

The thinking was that Myles Lewis-Skelly now looks set to make a permanent switch into midfield, while both Hincapie and Calafiori will be needed as centre-back cover to ease the burden on Gabriel Magalhaes next term following a gruelling 63-game season.

Leverkusen said in a club statement on Thursday: "The conditions for the purchase option were met and defender Hincapie will therefore continue his career with the London club in the Premier League in the coming years."