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Football Transfer Rumors: Barcelona plans £40M winter swoop on Arsenal's Hector Bellerín

By Raymund Tamayo | Sep 19, 2016 11:29 PM EDT
Arsenal right back Héctor Bellerín
(Photo : Getty Images) FC Barcelona is reportedly planning a massive £40 million winter swoop of Arsenal right back Hector Bellerín as replacement for ill-fit Aleix Vidal.

La Liga champions FC Barcelona is reportedly planning a massive £40 million winter swoop of Arsenal right back Hector Bellerín as replacement for ill-fit Aleix Vidal.

The Mirror reported that Barça wants one of the Gunners' most reliable defenders in Bellerín to replace Vidal, who "simply hasn't adapted to" head coach Luis Enrique's system after being acquired from Sevilla FC last summer for around £15 million.

Barcelona has been known to target Arsenal for raids on their wanted players during the past few seasons with the signings of Thomas Vermaelen, Alex Song, Cesc Fabregas, and Thierry Henry to name a few.

The Catalonia residents are looking at the Holloway, London outfit once again to fill their current need at the backfield as Barça continues its search for the ideal right back after veteran and regular starter Dani Alves moved to Juventus in the summer.

Barça had reportedly submitted a bid for Bellerín during the recent summer transfer window, but the Gunners immediately turned it down as the English Premier League side is still not ready to part ways with the 21-year-old Barcelona native.

However, the report said that his hometown club is keen on making a new and improved bid when the transfer window re-opens in January to the tune of a scintillating £40 million offer, which would make him the most expensive full back in the sport's history.

Bellerín's present contract with the Gunners is set to expire at the end of the 2018-2019 season and is said to be in an ongoing negotiation with club officials for a possible contract renewal this season.

Barcelona sporting director Robert Fernandez is rumored to be in close contact with the Spain international these days to try and persuade him to go home to Barça in January instead of signing an extension with Arsenal.

Meanwhile, Daily Mail Online indicated that the opportunity to "return to his boyhood club would be a difficult proposition to turn down (for Bellerín), especially given the trophy success Barcelona regularly enjoy".

Bellerín began his football career in his hometown's youth academy when he was just eight years old in 2003 before moving to Arsenal in England in 2011. The Gunners then further nurtured him to become the Premier League defender that he is today.

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