Transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has shared to his 2.5m followers on Twitter that Arsenal star Hector Bellerin is going to ‘leave the club’ this summer, as the Gunners eye a new right-back.
Bellerin joined the Gunners at the age of 16 from Barcelona, quickly bursting out of the Premier League side’s youth ranks and establishing himself as a key player.
Romano insists that the North London outfit are yet to open ‘official talks’ for Inter Milan star Achraf Hakimi, whilst Chelsea academy graduate and Brighton ace Tariq Lamptey is not ‘top’ of their ‘list’.
It now seems that the adopted Londoner’s spell at the club will end right at the decade-long mark. The Standard report that Bellerin earns £100,000-a-week on his current deal that expires in 2023.
See More: Arsenal will need to find alternatives this summer as main transfer target is listed as untouchable
Achraf Hakimi to Repubblica: “I’m planning my future with Inter. I hope to stay for a long time, I’m happy here”.
Arsenal will sign a new RB but have never opened official talks for Hakimi as of today.
Lamptey is not on top of the list. Bellerin’s gonna leave the club. ??? #AFC— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 17, 2021
Romano only reported around a week ago that there was ‘huge chances’ that the 26-year-old would leave when the season ends, citing long-standing interest from Paris Saint-Germain.
Bellerin has fallen out of the starting eleven recently, being left on the sidelines for the Gunners’ last six Premier League fixtures, a development from Mikel Arteta that cements rumours of an imminent exit.
It doesn’t look as though the Spain international will win his place back in the team anytime soon either, as Calum Chambers has been solid since his latest return from injury.
As I’ve noted before, the enigmatic and clearly much-loved Bellerin will be a massive loss to the Arsenal dressing room, but maybe it is just the right time for both parties to move on.
Arsenal will hopefully look to add someone that can make their battle to return to the Champions League much more respectable in the near future, whilst Bellerin may land a chance to transfer to a club that compete in Europe’s elite club competition already.