Arsenal will open talks in the summer with Real Betis regarding the permanent transfer of Hector Bellerin, football.london understands. The 27-year-old is currently on loan from the Gunners after requesting a move away from the club in January.
Bellerin has made 19 appearances in La Liga this season and established himself as a regular in the team. He recently revealed that the decision to join his boyhood club was made after he consulted an analytics company to find the best fit for him.
“I don’t know what people will think, but the projection that was given to me by the big data was that Betis were going to have a very good year this season, so you can see how these machines work," said Bellerin.
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“I have used it a lot for this type of thing, I think that statistics show everything but sometimes not the most important thing too though. I do feel that in some way, a player can affect the play in ways that aren’t calculable with numbers.”
Bellerin's contract with Arsenal expires in the summer of 2023 although it's believed the Gunners have an option to extend it by another year, which they could trigger in order to protect the player's value.
Antonio Cordon, sporting director at Betis, says that negotiations have yet to begin with Arsenal over a permanent transfer.
"We haven't negotiated with Arsenal yet and we haven't talked about the future," he said. "We have to wait and see how the season ends."
