Report: Barcelona to present Arsenal with two options as they look to sign Hector Bellerin

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Barcelona cannot afford to sign Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin permanently this summer, with Marca reporting that the Catalan giants are considering two alternative options to put forward to the Gunners. 

Marca reports that Barca are preparing for the departure of Nelson Semedo this summer. The report claims that there are clubs willing to pay between £37-£46.2 million for the right-back.

Interestingly however, it is suggested that Ronald Koeman’s side do not have the funds to meet Arsenal’s asking price for Bellerin – who they want as his replacement.

Marca claims that the Gunners would want more than £27.7 million for Bellerin. And although Barcelona are keen, they are not able to put that kind of money on the table.

That does not mean the end of their pursuit however. Marca adds that Barca will attempt to take Bellerin on loan. And should Arsenal reject that bid, they reportedly plan to include a player in their next offer.

It will be fascinating to see how Arsenal respond if Barcelona make either offer. But it does seem incredibly unlikely that they would be willing to accept a loan deal unless a considerable fee is put in place for next summer.

And of course, much could also depend on who Barcelona are willing to offer in exchange should they fail with a loan bid.

But Arsenal may not shut the door entirely. Spotrac shows that Bellerin earns £110,000-a-week at the Emirates. And the Gunners are not short of options at right-back, with Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Cedric Soares also in the squad.

So it will be very interesting to see if there is still scope for a deal to be done with Barcelona not prepared to meet Bellerin’s asking price.