Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin has said “a lot can happen” before the start of next season as talk of a move back to Barcelona continues to grow.
The Catalans are in the market for a top-class right-sided defender and have been heavily linked with the 22-year-old.
New head coach Ernesto Valverde is reported to have given the green light to a €50-million bid for the player, who left Camp Nou to join Arsenal in 2011.
With Bellerin having had less playing time since manager Arsene Wenger altered Arsenal’s system to a 3-4-3, the Spain international has refused to rule out a move after the European U21 Championship in Poland this month.
“You never know what can happen, but I have a contract and when I finish my holidays after the Euros I will have to go back there,” he told Mundo Deportivo.
“The truth is that every player of a top level wants to play in the Champions League, especially when I’ve been playing in it for two years. As a team, we didn’t achieve qualification and it’s something that we want to correct, but as a player, I repeat: it’s an important competition.
“It’s a great thing to know about the interest of a club like Barca, the club where I grew up. I don’t know anything at the moment. I’m an Arsenal player and we’ll see what happens.
“It’s always been very good in London, my family settled there with me, although now, for family reasons, they have had to return to Barcelona. I have a tougher time now because I’m a family person, I depend on them a lot, and it’ll be a new challenge to be without them.
“I haven’t talked to anyone. I haven’t talked to the club. I know a lot of things are being talked about but as a player, the club haven’t told me anything, there has still not been any contact.
“A lot can happen this summer.”
Bellerin says Wenger’s decision to sign a new contract is unlikely to influence his future plans, despite the Gunners boss having used him less following a switch to a back three towards the end of the season.
“We didn’t know how it was going to end up,” he said of the uncertainty surrounding Wenger. “He decided to renew but I’m tied to Arsenal; the fact that he is renewing doesn’t change things much. I’d have been happy to stay with any other coach because I have a contract.
“It’s been a difficult season, in terms of the team and on a personal level. There has been a lot of pressure as a club because Arsenal is a team of a high level and with a lot of demands.
“It’s been tough, but you learn a lot from these experiences. It’s something that will help me a lot in the rest of my career.
“In the end we were able to win the FA Cup, an important trophy for us, and we finished the season well.
“There was a change of system. I talked to the coach and he explained to me that, with this new system, he preferred to play with a different type of player. As a footballer, you have to take it and work hard in order to change opinion.”
– This story originally appeared on FourFourTwo.co.za
