Real Betis are working to free up money in their wage bill in order to sign Hector Bellerin from Arsenal before the transfer window shuts.
That’s according to AS, who say that the club are ‘excited’ about the prospect of bringing the Spaniard in.
They say the Arsenal man is ‘on standby’ for the club, with manager Manuel Pellegrini preferring to sign a more versatile player who can play at centre-back and perhaps as a pivot in midfield.
Inside the club, though, the tone is very different, and they are excited about the possibility of freeing up enough salary space to bring Bellerin to the Benito Villamarín.
The newspaper says Arsenal are still ‘looking for a way out’ for Bellerin, but so far, no club has shown an interest in paying his ‘juicy salary’ of more than €3m a year.
The player is a ‘recognised Bético’, something he’s shown on social media and isn’t a part of Mikel Arteta’s plans moving forwards.
His wages have proved to be a problem, though, while Arsenal’s asking price is ‘putting most of them (interested parties’) off’.
Betis want to ‘strike a blow’ at the end of the market, and Bellerin would represent that, but first, they need to part with players on big wages, William Carvalho chief among them.
