Arsenal right-back Hector Bellerin has been linked to a move away from the club with growing talks of Barcelona interested in signing the former academy graduate in the upcoming transfer window.
Reports suggest that Joan Laporta has named Hector Bellerin as one of his targets to bring back to Camp Nou if he gets re-elected as president at the club.
According to various sources, Laporta who had earlier seven years at the club till 2010, is favorite to take over the club as president.
Bellerin was a part of the famed ‘La Masia’ academy for a period of eight years from 2003 to 2011, moving to the Arsenal youth team the following year.
Bellerin’s current contract at the club is set to expire in 2023, meaning Arsenal hold the right to ask for a good price, and it remains to be seen if Barcelona will move to buy the defender. The Spaniard’s representatives have already met with Barcelona and a price of around £22m is being quoted for the right-back.
The 25-year-old has played over 200 games for Arsenal over eight years, winning the FA medal thrice, but still maintains affection for his former club Barcelona and is clearly open to moving ‘back home’.
The news about losing one of their own players might come as a worry for Arsenal fans, with their club getting off to it’s worst league start in over 50 years, and several players putting in under par performances in recent weeks.
However, reports claim that Bellerin remains determined to finish the current season at the club and will look for a transfer only in the summer window and not in January. The Gunners are currently experiencing a huge slump in form and are stuck in 15th place having amassed just 14 points so far.
Barcelona, similar to Arsenal, have suffered a slump, as Ronald Koeman’s men are in fifth, already eight points behind league leaders Atletico Madrid. The club will be looking to recruit massively in the upcoming window, but it looks like they will have to wait until summer to try and sign Bellerin.
However, it still remains to be seen if the 58-year-old Laporta takes over from his predecessor Josep Bartomeu at the club, before Arsenal fans start worrying about the future of Bellerin at Arsenal. A player of Bellerin’s style fits Barcelona perfectly and a move back will definitely help the Spaniard take his game to another level and even enable him to compete for a spot in the Spanish national team.
