Manchester City may already have two international right full backs in their squad, in the form of Pablo Zabaleta and Bacary Sagna but that still hasn’t stopped them from taking interest in Arsenal full-back, Hector Bellerin.
The Spaniard who came through the Arsenal youth system to break into the senior squad is a transfer target for the Manchester Club as he satisfies the home-grown rule.
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The home-grown player rule basically means a player who has trained at an English/Welsh club for three years before his 21st birthday will qualify as a home-grown player thus allowing the club to bring in more foreign players.
As a result, one of the changes proposed by the previous FA Chairman Greg Dykes was the reduction of the age limit from 21 to 18, which still hasn’t been implemented.
The 21-year-old has been with Arsenal since 2011, having joined them from Barcelona, at the age of 16. He signed his first professional contract with Arsenal and also fulfils the quota of home grown players as is required by the Premier League.
City who let go of Joe Hart have replaced their keeper with another homegrown player in the form of John Stones who was lured away from Everton in the summer.
The Spaniard though may serve the dual purpose of easing out Sagna out of his position as well as fulfilling the home-grown rule criteria. Guardiola, whose teams believe in fast, possession based football have always used the wing backs as an outlet to stretch the game. At Barcelona, he had Dani Alves who used to maraud down the right wing in the company of Messi.
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At Bayern, he redeveloped Lahm and experimented with his position, helping the player develop more tactical acumen and using his pace to shuffle the playing style. Bellerin with his pace and his Barcelona upbringing will be an integral member of the squad if he does move to the Etihad.
With both Zabaleta and Sagna above 30, Bellerin will be a welcome addition to the squad. Pep has already started rejuvenating the squad bringing in youth in the form of Leroy Sane. The presence of Sterling and Iheanacho alongside midfielder Kevin De Bruyne represents a very youthful Manchester City side. Bellerin’s addition to it can only complement the current squad.
Manchester City currently lies top of the Premier League having won their first 5 league games under Guardiola. City take on Swansea City at the Liberty stadium in an EFL Cup tie on Wednesday and will hope to continue their stupendous start to the season.
