Three players Real Madrid won’t sign but totally should

2. Héctor Bellerín

Why Real Madrid should sign him:

Speaking of an actual right-back to replace Danilo, how about Héctor Bellerín?

Bellerín has been going through a bit of a rough patch lately. In fact, Chris Wheatley of Goal.com reckons that it’s Bellerín “worst run of form since breaking through into the starting line-up,” one which has “coincided with the club’s worst ever season under Arsene Wenger.” Indeed, I elicited some pretty serious skepticism on a recent The Real Champs’ podcast for suggesting that Real Madrid sign the Arsenal full-back.

So why do I think we should sign him?

I swear I’m not normally the kind of real Madrid fan to suggest signing players just to keep them away from Barcelona. But this time…

We should totally sign Bellerín to keep him from going to Barcelona.

It’s no secret that Barca have had problems at the right-back position as of late. There is a giant, Dani Alves sized hole on the right side of Barcelona’s back line, and their attempts to fill it have thus far been futile.

Enter Hector Bellerín. Bellerín is a product of Barcelona’s La Masia.  The Bellerín to Barca connection seems to appear year after year, and this summer was no different. Bellerín was thought to be Barca’s number one transfer target. 

But it appears this transfer isn’t going to happen… not this summer, at least. Arsenal told Barca to back off, and Barca are in for Portuguese defender Nelson Semedo.

This would provide Real Madrid with the opportunity to swoop in with an offer Arsenal can’t refuse. Arsenal may be uniquely hesitant to sell to Barcelona because they fear a Cesc Fabregas 2.0 scenario. Maybe if Real Madrid splashed the cash, or even offloaded the likes of Arsene’s long-desired Karim Benzema, they could get the Arsenal board to change their mind about keeping Bellerín.

But wait, doesn’t Bellerín suck now? Isn’t he in the worst form of his life?

Well, not so fast. Wheatley, the same writer who opined that Bellerín is in his roughest patch yet, ultimately calls for Arsenal fans to have some patience with the young right-back.

He recently recovered from a tough injury, and is still learning the discipline it takes to excel at the highest levels. But Bellerín’s contributions on the attacking end of the pitch more than make up for the occasional defensive lapse.

As Wheatley concludes:

"He possesses pace, an eye for a pass and all the hallmarks of a top class full-back which will improve with time and hard work. His confidence may be at an all-time low right now but there is no doubt that Bellerin has all the potential required to become one of the best in his position – and that is why the likes of Barcelona and Manchester City want to sign him."

Why not Real Madrid?

Why Real Madrid won’t sign him:

First and foremost, because Arsenal won’t sell him. Arsenal feel they got burned hard in Cesc Fabregas’ transfer to Barcelona. While it’s nice wishful thinking to assume Real Madrid could drop a bit more cash and make those feelings go away because they represent a different side of Spain, that’s probably not the case.

Second, Bellerín doesn’t seem to want to leave Arsenal. He’s spoken on a number of occasions of his desire to stay at Arsenal for a long time.

Finally, it’s hard to imagine Hector Bellerín actually wanting to transfer to Madrid. Even though he left La Masia to fight for a spot at Arsenal, the player still came up through Barca’s system and probably has some loyalties left to that club. Denis Suarez has claimed that Bellerín’s Spanish loyalties still lie in Catalunya, despite his enduring ties to Arsenal.

Bellerín is already having to fight hard to keep his spot at Arsenal. Coming to Real Madrid means he would be thrust into a fierce competition with Dani Carvajal for minutes at the right-back position. Not to mention the existence of Nacho, who could himself make a fine backup for Dani Carvajal on his own.