Spanish giants Barcelona will seek to revive their long-term interest in Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin when the transfer reopens in three months’ time.
The 22-year-old left for the famous La Masia academy for a move to north London in 2011 and has since transformed himself into one of the Premier League’s best right-backs.
While his reputation continues to rise, former club Barca appear keen to re-sign their former graduate with sporting director Robert Fernandez having tracked the youngster during the Gunners’ 5-1 Champions League demolition to Bayern Munich last month.
According to Spanish outlet Cadena Ser, via The Sun, Barca will retain their pursuit of Bellerin during the summer transfer window as they seek to fill the void on the right side of the defence.
Luis Enrique’s side had allowed Dani Alves to link up with Juventus last summer, and they have since failed to find a suitable replacement with Sergi Roberto acting as the makeshift right-back.
Both Aleix Vidal and Rafinha have also earned their opportunities to impress in the position, but injuries have seemingly ruled out the pair for the rest of the campaign.
As per Cadena Ser, the La Liga holders will seek to offer midfielder Arda Turan in a part-exchange deal in order to prise away Bellerin from the Emirates in the summer.
Bellerin who is reportedly rated at £42m, only inked a fresh six-and-a-half year deal in November 2016, but Barca remain hopeful of getting him at a reasonable price with Turan acting as a makeweight in the proposed agreement.
Arsenal currently don’t have a specialist right-back to rely upon other than Bellerin – ignoring outcasts Carl Jenkinson and Mathieu Debuchy, and this makes the deal highly unlikely unless they recruit a suitable replacement.
Napoli’s Elseid Hysaj could be considered as a potential successor to Bellerin in the summer, but as of now, the move remains pure speculation with the club more focused on their league form.
Arsenal are currently fifth in the league standings with 54 points, seven adrift of fourth-placed Manchester City with two games in hand.
