Roma head coach Jose Mourinho has reportedly made contact with Barcelona to discuss a proposed January deal to sign right-back Hector Bellerin.
After spending 10 years in the senior team at Arsenal, the 27-year-old mutually agreed to terminate his contract over the summer before returning to boyhood club Barca.
However, Bellerin has struggled for regular first-team football under head coach Xavi, featuring only five times across all competitions this season.
Bellerin's only start in La Liga came in the 4-0 away win over Cadiz in September, while his only other two starts have been in the Champions League, playing the full 90 minutes in Barca's final two group-stage fixtures against Bayern Munich and Viktoria Plzen.
A recent report claims that Xavi is keen to replace Bellerin in the summer, and Mourinho has identified the Spaniard as a potential target.
According to Sport, Mourinho has called Barcelona to discuss a possible loan or permanent transfer for Bellerin, who is out of contract at Camp Nou at the end of the season.
The Roma boss is on the lookout for a new right wing-back after falling out with Rick Karsdorp, who appears to have played his last game for the Italian club.
Following Roma's 1-1 Serie A draw with Sassuolo earlier this month, Mourinho accused an unnamed player – believed to be Karsdorp – of 'betraying' his team and that he should find a new club in January.
Speaking to reporters after the game, the Portuguese boss said: "It was a team that wanted to win against a tough opponent, I am sorry that the efforts of the team were betrayed by the attitude of one unprofessional player.
"An unprofessional attitude that is not fair to his teammates, that is what disappoints me. A point away from home is still not a negative result and I am happy with the general attitude of my squad.
"I had 16 players on the field tonight and I liked the attitude of 15 of them. I told the other than he had this attitude today only and not always. Now we want to close this period of the season with three points. In January, he needs to find himself another club."
Karsdorp was subsequently dropped from Roma's matchday squad for the following game against Torino – their final match before the World Cup break – and the Dutch defender is understood to have already returned to Amsterdam after he bid farewell to his teammates.
It remains to be seen whether Bellerin would be interested in swapping Camp Nou for Stadio Olimpico, as the Spaniard has previously expressed his desire to remain with Barca.
Bellerin, who spent last season on loan with Real Betis, told reporters: "I want to renew, I'm happy with Barca. When I left at 16 I never even trained with the first team.
"Now we want to get the club back to where it should be, but ours is a project that takes time to get results. We have 100% confidence in Xavi, even [Jurgen] Klopp and [Pep] Guardiola didn't win anything when they arrived in England."
Roma are also understood to have identified Real Madrid right-back Alvaro Odriozola as a potential target ahead of the New Year. body check tags ::
