Arriving on a free transfer from Arsenal in the summer, Hector Bellerin only stayed six months for his return to Barcelona before being bought by Sporting Clube de Portugal for €1m on transfer deadline day.
The move came about after the late exit of Pedro Porro, and the Portuguese side needed a replacement, which they found in the Spaniard.
That being said, they weren’t the only ones to try their luck, as Everton, Fulham and Bournemouth in the Premier League also wanted him.
They were joined by three clubs from Italy, with Relevo, relayed by Estadio Deportivo, naming Monza, Torino and Sassuolo as the competition for the English clubs.
In the end, Sporting beat Everton, Fulham and Bournemouth to the transfer, as it’s stated that ‘only the arrival at the last minute unblocked the situation’.
That’s because the player, clearly on his way out of Barcelona, ‘rejected’ advances from the Toffees, the Cherries and the Craven Cottage side, because ‘none of them convinced him’.
Fulham spent much of the transfer window looking for a right-back, eventually landing Cédric Soares on loan from Arsenal, while Bournemouth bolstered their left-hand side of the defence instead with a loan for Matías Viña.
Everton, down their end, only changed managers, as Sean Dyche replaced Frank Lampard, because the Toffees were never able to get a deal over the line for an actual player, even missing out to Nottingham Forest for the free transfer of André Ayew.
Bellerín, instead of opting for a return to the Premier League, decided to sign a six month contract with Sporting, who have the option of extending his stay there for two more season ‘if both parties agree and are satisfied with the relationship, dependent on sports performance’.
