Barcelona Transfer News: Hector Bellerin Targeted Amid Latest Dani Alves Rumours

Barcelona are reportedly eyeing Arsenal right-back Hector Bellerin as their "first-choice" replacement for Dani Alves, who is close to agreeing a deal to move to Juventus.

According to Mundo Deportivo (via Joe Short in the Express), Barca technical director Robert Fernandez has spoken to former La Masia defender Bellerin about the possibility of returning to the Camp Nou this summer, but the 21-year-old "insists he is happy in north London."

That will not stop Barca from making a swoop, though, as they look set to be left short in the right-back region if Alves does indeed move to Juve.

Sport Witness passed along Mundo's front page featuring Bellerin and went on to suggest he's seen as "a favourite" to replace the Brazilian. The report also noted that despite Mundo previously saying it "would be almost impossible to convince Arsenal to sell," Gunners fans may be concerned about the link considering how they lost Cesc Fabregas back in 2011:

Certainly the pull of Barca for former academy players does seem a strong one, with Fabregas not the only example of a recent La Masia player who returned from a spell in England to the Camp Nou—see Gerard Pique's move from Manchester United in 2008.

And Spain international Bellerin has turned into the calibre of player Barca will be on the lookout for to replace the long-serving Alves.

Last season, the Barcelona-born defender displaced Mathieu Debuchy as Arsenal's first-choice right-back under manager Arsene Wenger, and he started 36 of the Gunners' 38 Premier League games as they came second in 2015-16, per WhoScored.com.

Per Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe, only assist-master Mesut Ozil was better for Arsenal than Bellerin in the English top flight last season:

The Arsenal fans and Emirates hierarchy would be loath to see Bellerin go, as he could be a stalwart of the first team for the next decade.

And despite the regular movement from Arsenal to Barca in previous years—Alex Song, Thierry Henry and Alexander Hleb have also made the switch from north London to Catalonia in the last decade—there is little danger in Bellerin doing the same just yet. 

In a blow for Barca, he recently committed himself to Arsenal in no uncertain terms, per James Benge in the Evening Standard: "I say every year that England is my home now. I've lived there for many years; my family and my girlfriend are there. I'm very happy there so I don't see myself anywhere other than Arsenal."

Bellerin is also currently contracted to Arsenal until 2019, meaning Barca would have to shell out a significant fee to tempt the Gunners to sell, and it seems the Blaugrana may need to look elsewhere for an Alves replacement.