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11/21/2024 10:24:58 pm

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Football News & Rumors: Arsenal to Give Hector Bellerín 100% Wage Increase to Reject Barcelona Transfer

Arsenal defender Hector Bellerín

(Photo : Getty Images) Hector Bellerín could leave Arsenal soon.

Arsenal is reportedly set to give right-back Hector Bellerín a 100 percent wage increase at the end of the season to fend off the interest of La Liga champions Barcelona.

Speculations abound that the Spanish outfit is going to target the 21-year-old Bellerín next summer as Barca head coach Luis Enrique plans to have a youth revolution by next season.

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Enrique is currently relying on older veterans, such Jeremy Mathieu, Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba, to man the team's defense as they have a shortage of backfield players. Some of the Spanish coach's defenders are actually natural midfielders who are just forced to play at the position, like Sergi Roberto and Javier Mascherano.

Barcelona tried to inject some young players during the recent summer window with the signing of Samuel Umtiti and Lucas Digne from French clubs Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain. However, they were deemed not enough by Enrique if the Catalan giants want to continue to be a world football powerhouse in the future.

Arsenal head coach Arsene Wenger is said to be preparing "a new bumper deal" for Bellerín that would almost double his current wage with the Gunners to make him turn down any offers from Barça, according to Caught Offside.

Bellerín is presently receiving a salary of $61,000 per week from the English club. With the new contract Wenger is arranging, his pay is expected to reach $117,000 weekly, which the 66-year-old mentor hopes he will accept next year.

"Hector has nearly three years of his contract to go," said Wenger, according to The Sun. "That is why I'm surprised by the speculation."

"We will try to extend his contract because, for me, his long-term future is here," he continued.

Bellerín came from Barcelona's youth academy since 2003 before moving to Arsenal's in 2011. He is also a Barcelona native, which is why his hometown club is keen on bringing him back, this time as a senior player.

"I don't think that you have to play where you were born," Wenger narrated. "Modern life is not like that and Hector has integrated very well with the values of our club. He came to us at a very young age." 

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