Arsenal in talks over welcome £8.5m transfer move

All eyes are on the upcoming summer as Arsenal aim to continue the overhaul of their squad by adding quality in key positions to complement their youthful squad.

Up front the aim is to bring in two forwards, one more along the lines of a classic No. 9 and another who can operate out wide, with midfield and defence also on the radar.

There is also a new goalkeeper on the horizon in the form of Matt Turner. In other words, another busy summer awaits.

To help facilitate potential moves – apart from finishing in the top four and securing Champions League football – Arsenal will aim to move more players on. Having done so with six departures in the winter window there is not much room for further departures from the first team. Other than those out on loan, that is.

Arsenal in talks over welcome £8.5m transfer sale of Hector Bellerin to Real Betis in upcoming summer window

Matteo Guendouzi is already effectively a Marseille player, Lucas Torreira looks certain to join Fiorentina on a full-time basis, and Konstantinos Mavropanos could be set for Stuttgart even if their place in the Bundesliga isn’t assured. Elsewhere, question marks remain over Reiss Nelson, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Pablo Mari and William Saliba.

Someone who looks set to be joining the first of those groups is Hector Bellerin.

Sent out on loan to Real Betis in the previous summer in a deal that included no option or obligation to buy, the right-back got the move to his boyhood club that his career sorely needed.

Stagnating at Arsenal and falling out of favour, getting the chance to play regularly in his native Spain would help build up some value ahead of entering the final year of his career. That’s exactly what he’s done, and he’s got himself a trophy to boot.

As per Sport (via Sport Witness), talks are underway between both clubs around making the move permanent at the end of the season. Manuel Pellegrini is said to be incredibly pleased with Bellerin’s contributions – which include setting up Borja Iglesias’ goal in the Copa del Rey final – and hopes are that a conclusion can be found.

In regards to a price, Arsenal are said to be holding out for around €10m (£8.4m), which for a player with one year left on his deal wouldn’t be too bad of a return. Granted, it wasn’t long ago when bids of around £35m from PSG were being reportedly rejected.

Bellerin will surely want the move to go ahead, speaking regularly about how much he’s enjoying his time in Seville at the club he supported as a boy, and not least as there is no place for him back at Arsenal. Takehiro Tomiyasu has been a revelation and he isn’t getting dislodged.

Spending the season in La Liga on loan has already prepared supporters for bidding farewell to someone with Arsenal running through his veins. If a deal can be struck at £8.4m, it will help even more.