Hector Bellerin’s return to Barcelona this season has not gone according to plans. The 27-year-old came back to his boyhood club, signing on a Bosman deal on the summer transfer deadline day after his contract at Arsenal was terminated.
Brought in as an emergency signing to strengthen the right-back slot, Bellerin has failed to deliver for the Blaugrana so far, with fitness issues and poor form hampering him.
So much so that, manager Xavi Hernandez has been utilising Alejandro Balde, a left-back, ahead of Bellerin in the right-back position. As a result, the former Arsenal ace has played just five matches so far Barça across all competitions this season.
With Bellerin’s contract expiring at the end of the season, chances of a renewal had been looking slim. However, now Barça can cash in on the Spaniard in the January window rather than letting him leave for nothing in the summer.
Indeed, according to reports in Italy, as relayed by Mundo Deportivo, Bellerin has emerged as a January transfer target for Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma. The Serie A heavyweights are set to enter the market for a new right-back in January as a replacement for Rick Karsdorp.
Mourinho lambasted a Roma star in his recent press conference after the game against Sassuolo and claimed that he will let that player go in January. While he did not name that player, it is being speculated that the Portuguese tactician targeted Karsdorp, who now looks to be on his way out.
And Bellerin has popped up on the Giallorossi’s radar as a potential replacement. Roma are said to be monitoring the 27-year-old’s situation at Barcelona and could present him with an offer to lure him to Italy in the winter window.
Barça, for their part, could be open to such an operation considering that Xavi wants to sign a new right-back as a priority in January. So, it will be interesting to see if Bellerin’s return to his boyhood club is cut short during the mid-season trading period.
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