David Ornstein of The Athletic has been discussing the future of the Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin during a recent episode of The Ornstein & Chapman podcast.
Hector Bellerin has reportedly been the subject of interest from current Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain, and it’s understood the French club had tabled an offer of £25m plus £5m in add-ons for the right-back last week.
The Spaniard has been with the Gunners since July 2011 when he joined the club from Barcelona. During his time in north London, the 25-year-old has made 205 first-team appearances for the Gunners, contributing eight goals and 25 assists so far.
On the possibility of the player leaving this summer, here is what Ornstein had to say:
“There’s certainly been interest in Hector Bellerin from a number of clubs. I think Arsenal would like to keep him, and I think, internally, they’ve been quite clear about that. But at the same time, we’re in a market now where there are few clubs who can genuinely turn around and say somebody’s not for sale if the right offer comes in, and Paris Saint-Germain have expressed interest in him.
“If they were to get to the sort of fee that Arsenal would expect for Bellerin, who’s got, I think, three years left on his contract, then they might be willing to do business.
“I think Bellerin himself would probably be open to a new challenge if both parties agreed – it could be something that suits everybody. I don’t think it’s moved on significantly. I think Arsenal would be looking for a substantially higher figure than PSG have been suggesting so far. But inevitably, in these situations, you see compromises reached. I don’t think it’s guaranteed to happen, but I think there is an acceptance on all sides, really, that if they can amicably work towards a sort of mutual understanding, then they will.”
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TIF Thoughts…
It’s clear that in Ornstein’s opinion, there is a chance the club could decide to move the player on during this window if the right offer was to come in. If he were to be sold, Mikel Arteta would be left with Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Cedric Soares as right-back options. Arteta spoke highly of the Portuguese defender not so long ago and Maitland-Niles has impressed recently for the Gunners – so in our view, this could provide the Gunners with an opportunity to raise some transfer funds without significantly weakening the squad.