Barcelona presidential candidate wants Arsenal star for £22m
Joan Laporta wants to sign Hector Bellerin if he gets re-elected as Barcelona president next month, holding talks with the player’s representatives.
The Mirror report that sources in Spain suggest an agreement is already in place between Joan Laporta and Hector Bellerin’s camp to try and negotiate a deal with Arsenal for a transfer. A figure of £22m plus add-ons is being discussed.
Bellerin has a deal until 2023, but he’s open to the move. However, he’ll only consider leaving Arsenal next summer, not in January.
The 25-year-old has been a regular starter for Arsenal so far this season. Before last week, he’d started every Premier League match of the campaign, completing 90 minutes in all but two of them.
That changed against Southampton, as he had to serve a one-match yellow-card suspension. Interestingly, he didn’t come back into the team for the following game, with Ainsley Maitland-Niles taking his place.
At this point, I wouldn’t read too much into that. But it’s possible we’re starting to see the signs that Bellerin has a fight on his hands to retain his place in the starting lineup.
If Mikel Arteta considers Maitland-Niles or Cedric Soares as serious competition for the spot, he may also think about cashing in on Bellerin to invest in the team elsewhere.
Most top teams don’t need three right-backs, particularly with academy options as strong as Arsenal’s in the position. So it’s one to keep an eye on, even if it looks like Bellerin isn’t going anywhere for now.