Hector Bellerin has returned to FC Barcelona on a one-year contract, the club announced on deadline day. The Spaniard terminated his contract bilaterally with Arsenal, allowing him to move to the Catalan capital on a free transfer. The Blaugrana, in turn, have set his release clause at a whopping 50 million euros.
Bellerin will replace Sergino Dest, who left the club on the final day of the summer transfer window to sign for the reigning Serie A champions AC Milan. The Rossoneri signed the American international on an initial loan deal but with the option to make it permanent at the end of the 2022/23 season for a reported 20 million euro fee. The youngster will don the number 21 shirt for the campaign, worn previously by Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Andrea Pirlo.
Milan also completed a similar deal for VfL Wolfsburg midfielder Aster Vranckx. The Italian giants brought in the young midfielder on a temporary deal, handing him the number 40 shirt, and managed to insert an option to turn his stay permanent at the end of the stipulated period for a fee reportedly in the region of 12 million euros.
Vranckx and Dest became Milan’s fourth and fifth signings, respectively. The Rossoneri also signed Divock Origi, Charles De Ketelaere, and Malick Thiaw while converting Alessandro Florenzi and Junior Messias’s loan deals from last season into permanent ones.
Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain wrapped up their transfer window by signing yet another midfielder after shipping out Leandro Paredes and Idrissa Gana Gueye to Juventus and Everton, respectively.
Former Valencia midfielder and Spain international Carlos Soler arrived at the Parc des Princes on a permanent transfer worth 18 million euros plus an additional three million in add-ons. He signed a five-year contract with the Parisians and was handed the number 28 shirt for his stay in Paris.
