Great signing for Sporting! The Lisbon club has snapped up the Barcelona defender

Sporting Lisbon got an absolutely amazing signing in the last hours of the January transfer window. Spanish right-back Héctor Bellerín moves from Barcelona to Lisbon. And not on loan, but as a permanent transfer.

There are only a few hours left in the January transfer window. Clubs are trying to complete the transfers that have been arranged, or to catch a key reinforcement or addition to the squad at the last minute.

For Sporting Lisbon, it’s the aforementioned first case, with Spanish defender Bellerín coming in on a permanent transfer.

He has switched three clubs in the last year. At the end of August 2021, he left Arsenal for Betis Sevilla, from where he returned to England at the end of June the following year.

However, he was not happy in the jersey of the current Premier League leader, so he left for Barcelona, but as a permanent transfer. And for free.

However, he didn’t play much for the Catalan club. He played only three league games – 20 minutes against Villarreal, 31 minutes against Elche. He played the full number of minutes in just one league game, against Cadiz (4: 0).

He made 32 starts during his year with Betis, during which he recorded five assists. He played the most games for the London club (239) with nine goals and 29 assists.

At Arsenal, however, he gradually started to struggle for playing time and lost space, although he played a decent amount of games in the last season 2020/21 (25).

So he will be a very valid player indeed for Sporting at the age of 27, especially in terms of fighting for the places that ensure participation in European cups. Benfica currently lead the Portuguese top flight with 47 points, seven points ahead of Braga.

Third place is currently held by Porto, who have collected 39 points so far. Sporting are fourth, seven points behind. In addition, they have only a two-point lead over fifth-placed Casa Pia. Bellerín is thus clearly a key reinforcement for the Lisbon club.

Sources: Transfermarkt, Twitter – Fabrizio Romano