Former Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin has been labelled as Barcelona ’s worst signing of the summer as his future grows increasingly uncertain.
The Spaniard signed for the La Liga giants in the summer having terminated the remaining year on his Gunners contract. He penned a one-year deal with his boyhood club but the homecoming hasn’t gone the way Bellerin or Barcelona expected.
The 27-year-old has been restricted to just five appearances during the first half of the campaign and only three of those have been starts. In fact, the right-back has played a total of 20 league minutes since mid-September due to injury and having been benched for the last four matches.
Bellerin's woes have been compounded after Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo asked fans to assess Barcelona's summer business. Robert Lewandowski unsurprisingly comes out on top with an average rating of 9.32 out of 10 after hitting 18 goals in his first 19 outings for the club.
Former Chelsea target Jules Kounde also racks up a highly-respectable rating of 7.82 having joined from domestic rivals Sevilla in the summer. Towards the other end of the scale sits former AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie - the Ivorian picking up an average 5.38 rating.
Things look even worse for Bellerin, who was awarded a catastrophic 4.42 rating, which easily makes him the worst signing at Camp Nou this season. His poor form could make things even more difficult going forwards.
Did Arteta make the right decision to let Bellerin go? Share your thoughts in the comments below
Having already fallen down the pecking order under Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, things are going a similar way in Catalonia. Previous reports have suggested that Barca have already decided not to renew his contract for a further season and are prioritising the signing of another right-back in the January transfer window.
That is despite Bellerin's ambitions to stay at Camp Nou for the long term. Speaking with Radio Catalunya earlier this month, he said: “I want to sign a new deal as I want to stay here at Barca, I’m really happy.”
Bellerin, a four-time Spanish international, has also failed to earn a place back in the Spain squad for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar. Having made his debut under Vicente del Bosque back in 2016, the right-back has not made an appearance for his country in over two years.
Speaking after Bellerin had quit Arsenal for Barcelona in the summer, Arsenal boss Arteta said: “If you take away the coaching and player situation a little bit, I get back into that relationship as well. I love the kid, I love what he’s done for the club, he’s someone that I have really strong feelings about and I wish him all the best because I know that it’s one of his dreams to play there.
“Hopefully he can fulfil his dream and get his career back to where he can because he’s still very young and has a lot he can do.”
