Former Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna claims he wouldn’t be surprised to see Hector Bellerin leave the club.
The 26-year-old defender, valued at £22.5m on Transfermarkt, has been subject to some transfer speculation in recent months, with French side Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona reportedly showing an interest in him.
And speaking in an interview with Charles Watts on his YouTube channel, Sagna felt that after not seeing much progress as a club, he wouldn’t be surprised if he decided that it was time for a new challenge in his career and made the move elsewhere.
He said: “It’s been a good six years and he probably feels today like [he needs] to challenge himself because he’s been there for a long time. Nothing to do with the club, nothing to do with winning cups or whatever. At some point, if you want to progress, he might feel the need of going somewhere else and challenging himself and start everything from zero again.
“He’s still young so he still has five good years to play at the top level and he can do it, so if he left now, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
Can Arsenal afford to sell Bellerin?
Yes, sell him
No, keep him
TIF Thoughts on Bacary Sagna’s comments on Hector Bellerin’s future…
Sagna’s comments about progress are an interesting one, because that’s something Arsenal haven’t really done this season, having fallen well off the pace when it comes to the Premier League.
That puts all the more emphasis on them winning the Europa League and qualifying for next season’s Champions League, which would be progress of some sort, seeing them back in the competition for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
And Bellerin’s situation is something that can be brought up with a number of players within the squad. It’s not always who you can attract – something that Champions League football will help them with – it’s also about who they can keep hold of.
In other news: ‘The issue for Arsenal’ – Charles Watts drops worrying claim around £36m-rated ace’s future