Barcelona’s pursuit of Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin appears to be over for now with the club set to sign right-back Nelson Semedo from Benfica.
The Catalan giants have made no secret of their desire to bring Bellerin, who departed Barcelona as a 16-year-old, back to the Nou Camp, with local media conducting the sort of public campaign to persuade him to return that was familiar to Arsenal from their sale of Cesc Fabregas in 2011.
But Arsenal, who tied Bellerin to a six-and-a-half year deal in November, had made clear their reluctance to lose one of their brightest young prospects.
With Bellerin unwilling to force his way back to La Liga despite admitting he missed his family, who had returned to Spain earlier this year, Barcelona were forced to look elsewhere.
They have now settled on 23-year-old Portugal international Semedo and the club confirmed on Thursday that they had reached an agreement with Benfica and that he would undergo a medical on Friday.
A statement on the club website confirmed: “FC Barcelona and Benfica have come to an agreement over the signing of Nelson Semedo, subject to the medical tests he will undergo this Friday in Barcelona.”
Arsenal players who moved to Barcelona
Barcelona have struggled to replace Dani Alves since his departure for Juventus at the start of last season, with neither Aleix Vidal nor Sergi Roberto proving themselves to be the Brazilian’s successor.
Semedo will now be tasked with filing that void, though whether this represents a long-term end to Barca’s pursuit of Bellerin remains to be seen.
