Arsenal release clause obsession continues with Hincapie as Newcastle eye £172.6m forwards
Arsenal have been slightly obsessed with release clauses this summer in pursuit of Viktor Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze, Joan Garcia and now Piero Hincapie.
This is an inexhaustive list of players with release clauses which could actually viably be triggered from summer 2025 onwards. We are talking sub-£100m, not your daft £1bn La Liga jobs.
Goalkeepers with tempting release clauses
Alex Remiro
The usual suspects have been linked in Aston Villa and Newcastle but Remiro has never played outside of Spain, has only been capped twice by the European champions and carries a hefty £60.4m price tag.
Diogo Costa
Manchester United have been linked with Portugal international keeper Costa before but Newcastle have been mentioned after missing out on James Trafford.
It doesn’t feel like Porto will hold out for the full £51.9m, nor that any club would pay it.
John Victor
The Club World Cup was a lovely shop window for the Botafogo keeper but West Ham had sudden cold feet – and were slammed for it – over an £8.6m move.
Defenders with tempting release clauses
Edmond Tapsoba
Newcastle are said to have offered £50m for Bayer Leverkusen defender Tapsoba; it is unknown whether or not they realise it might take as much as £80m.
Castello Lukeba
An eclectic cast of Liverpool, Spurs, Bayern Munich and Manchester City have been mentioned in discussions over Lukeba’s future, with a suggestion that Leipzig might not necessarily hold out for the French centre-half’s entire £77.8m release clause.
Ousmane Diomande
Crystal Palace have already identified their replacement for Marc Guehi, whether the captain leaves this summer or not. But they will not be paying £69.1m for the Sporting centre-half if they do sign him.
Piero Hincapie
It had been a quieter summer than Hincapie and his representatives might have anticipated but interest from Spurs prompted another hijack attempt from Arsenal. For £52m they could complete their mission of turning every corner into a guaranteed goal.
Enzo Boyomo
Aston Villa and Crystal Palace are known admirers of Osasuna centre-half Boyomo, who has been crucial for a side he only joined a year ago.
Boyomo stayed at Real Valladolid for just one campaign too before moving to Pamplona; whoever triggers his £21m release clause might expect to keep him for a little longer.
Kevin Lomonaco
“I really like the Premier League. It’s what I watch the most. I like West Ham,” should raise an absurd number of red flags within the departments of any and all clubs charged with scrutinising the character and even sanity of 23-year-old Lomonaco.
The centre-half has attracted interest from the Hammers, Crystal Palace, Sevilla and Wolfsburg in his £16.7m release clause.
Midfielders with tempting release clauses
Xavi Simons
It is believed that Simons has a release clause in his Leipzig contract worth around £70m but Chelsea are negotiating at a lower price point and Arsenal are contemplating turning the hijacking tables.
Forwards with tempting release clauses
Samu Aghehowa
Another sign that Chelsea might have cracked something in the transfer code, Aghehowa was targeted for around £35m in what was basically a Conor Gallagher swap before the striker changed his surname, joined Porto and teased the sort of form which might attract £86.3m interest.
Newcastle would like him but not at that price.
Vangelis Pavlidis
It has been a strong summer for centre-forwards having release clauses triggered but Pavlidis is unlikely to follow Hugo Ekitike, Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko.
Newcastle think £86.3m is a little too rich for their tastes.
Nico Williams
The bad news for Arsenal is that the Athletic Bilbao winger has extended his contract to 2035. The good news is that he still has a release clause, and it’s worth £82-86m. You’re still thinking about the bad news, aren’t you?
Rodrigo Mora
An eye-catching breakthrough season resulted in 35 appearances for Porto, 11 goals including one at the Club World Cup, a Portugal call-up for the Nations League finals and interest from Saudi Arabia.
Mora would not be the first emerging talent to leave the Portuguese league for the Middle East but Al Ittihad are going to have to up their bid if they want him.
Takefusa Kubo
Spurs will presumably make the final call based on what they believe Kubo can bring on the pitch, but there is also talk of the Japan international forward being signed to boost their Asian market presence after the exit of Heung-min Son.
It would be a very Daniel Levy thing to do, albeit at the cost of £51.6m.
Managers with tempting release clauses
Andoni Iraola
Bournemouth quietly fell off towards the end of the season to bring their dream of European qualification combined with FA Cup glory crashing back down to reality. But they will not waver in their determination to extend Iraola’s contract – and perhaps even remove that £10m release clause. Spurs have at least removed themselves from the equation.
