Hector Bellerin has been rated the most valuable defender in world football by the CIES Football Observatory as Barcelona plot to steal the full-back from Arsenal.

The 21-year-old is the Spanish giants number one choice to replace Dani Alves should the Brazilian transfer to Juventus as is widely expected. However Arsenal remain reluctant to lose one of world football’s outstanding young prospects and will be in a strong position to negotiate, having tied Bellerin to a four year contract last summer.

Bellerin, called up to Vicente del Bosque’s Euro 2016 squad on Tuesday only two days after making his international debut, is valued at £43.1million by CIES’ metrics for analysing a player’s worth – a figure not matched by any other full-back in world football.

The most valuable centre-back on the list is Bayern Munich’s David Alaba, whose value is estimated at £37.5m. CIES, a research group founded in Switzerland in 2005, claim that the correlation between their algorithm, which takes into account a player’s age, performances, contract length and experience among other factors, and transfer fees paid for players in Europe’s top five leagues has been 80 per cent since 2013.

Arsenal players who moved to Barcelona 9 show all Arsenal players who moved to Barcelona 1/9 Back to Barca for Bellerin?

Were he to move to the Nou Camp, and Arsenal are reluctant for that to happen, Bellerin would be the latest in a lengthy list of players to trade in the Premier League for La Liga.

Standard Sport examines how recent departures have fared. The Spanish giants have identified Hector Bellerin as their first-choice replacement for Dani Alves. Were he to move to the Nou Camp, and Arsenal are reluctant for that to happen, Bellerin would be the latest in a lengthy list of players to trade in the Premier League for La Liga.Standard Sport examines how recent departures have fared. Getty 2/9 Marc Overmars - 2000 Transfer fee: £25m



Games: 141



Goals: 19



The then-most expensive footballer in Dutch history struggled to stay fit up until 2004 and rarely discovered his Arsenal form at the Nou Camp.



Verdict: Miss 3/9 Emmanuel Petit - 2000 Transfer fee: £7m



Games: 38



Goals: 1



Could not earn himself a starting spot in midfield ahead of Pep Guardiola and was back in the Premier League a year later with Chelsea.



Verdict: Miss Ben Radford/ALLSPORT 4/9 Giovanni van Bronckhorst - 2004 Transfer fee: £1.6m



Games: 153



Goals: 7



A flop at Arsenal he was a revelation as Barcelona's first-choice left-back and never once let his side down over four seasons.



Verdict: Hit Alex Livesey/Getty Images 5/9 Thierry Henry - 2007 Transfer fee: £19.2m



Games: 121



Goals: 49



He finally won the Champions League and his goal return for his first two seasons was decent, if not exceptional. However Barcelona fans never quite saw the best of Henry.



Verdict: Miss (by Henry standards) Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images 6/9 Alexander Hleb - 2008 Transfer fee: £13.6m



Games: 36



Goals: 0



Eyebrows were raised when Hleb chose to trade in the Emirates for the Nou Camp and his first season was far from a success, with most of his appearances coming from the bench.



He spent subsequent seasons on loan at Stuttgart, Birmingham and Wolfsburg.



Verdict: Miss Denis Doyle/Getty Images 7/9 Cesc Fabregas - 2011 Transfer fee: £35m



Games: 151



Goals: 42



Barcelona finally got their man after years of pursuit, reuniting Fabregas with his boyhood club.



The dream swiftly turned sour as Fabregas struggled to carve out a starting spot in a midfield of Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets.



A year after a move to Manchester United collapsed Fabregas was back in the Premier League, signing for Chelsea in 2014.



Verdict: Miss 2014 Getty Images 8/9 Alex Song - 2012 Transfer fee: £15m



Games: 65



Goals: 1



Two seasons at Barcelona were nothing to write home about, he rarely seemed likely to be more than a benchwarmer though.



His second season on loan at West Ham was far from impressive and he will almost certainly need a new club next season.



Verdict: Miss Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images 9/9 Thomas Vermaelen - 2014 Transfer fee: £15m



Games: 21



Goals: 1



A great bit of business from Wenger, the Belgian centre-back has traded one treatment room for another without any significant success. Played just one game in his first season at Barcelona as he continued his extensive struggles with injuries.



Verdict: Miss (David Ramos/Getty Images) 1/9 Back to Barca for Bellerin?

Were he to move to the Nou Camp, and Arsenal are reluctant for that to happen, Bellerin would be the latest in a lengthy list of players to trade in the Premier League for La Liga.

Standard Sport examines how recent departures have fared. The Spanish giants have identified Hector Bellerin as their first-choice replacement for Dani Alves. Were he to move to the Nou Camp, and Arsenal are reluctant for that to happen, Bellerin would be the latest in a lengthy list of players to trade in the Premier League for La Liga.Standard Sport examines how recent departures have fared. Getty 2/9 Marc Overmars - 2000 Transfer fee: £25m



Games: 141



Goals: 19



The then-most expensive footballer in Dutch history struggled to stay fit up until 2004 and rarely discovered his Arsenal form at the Nou Camp.



Verdict: Miss 3/9 Emmanuel Petit - 2000 Transfer fee: £7m



Games: 38



Goals: 1



Could not earn himself a starting spot in midfield ahead of Pep Guardiola and was back in the Premier League a year later with Chelsea.



Verdict: Miss Ben Radford/ALLSPORT 4/9 Giovanni van Bronckhorst - 2004 Transfer fee: £1.6m



Games: 153



Goals: 7



A flop at Arsenal he was a revelation as Barcelona's first-choice left-back and never once let his side down over four seasons.



Verdict: Hit Alex Livesey/Getty Images 5/9 Thierry Henry - 2007 Transfer fee: £19.2m



Games: 121



Goals: 49



He finally won the Champions League and his goal return for his first two seasons was decent, if not exceptional. However Barcelona fans never quite saw the best of Henry.



Verdict: Miss (by Henry standards) Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images 6/9 Alexander Hleb - 2008 Transfer fee: £13.6m



Games: 36



Goals: 0



Eyebrows were raised when Hleb chose to trade in the Emirates for the Nou Camp and his first season was far from a success, with most of his appearances coming from the bench.



He spent subsequent seasons on loan at Stuttgart, Birmingham and Wolfsburg.



Verdict: Miss Denis Doyle/Getty Images 7/9 Cesc Fabregas - 2011 Transfer fee: £35m



Games: 151



Goals: 42



Barcelona finally got their man after years of pursuit, reuniting Fabregas with his boyhood club.



The dream swiftly turned sour as Fabregas struggled to carve out a starting spot in a midfield of Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets.



A year after a move to Manchester United collapsed Fabregas was back in the Premier League, signing for Chelsea in 2014.



Verdict: Miss 2014 Getty Images 8/9 Alex Song - 2012 Transfer fee: £15m



Games: 65



Goals: 1



Two seasons at Barcelona were nothing to write home about, he rarely seemed likely to be more than a benchwarmer though.



His second season on loan at West Ham was far from impressive and he will almost certainly need a new club next season.



Verdict: Miss Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images 9/9 Thomas Vermaelen - 2014 Transfer fee: £15m



Games: 21



Goals: 1



A great bit of business from Wenger, the Belgian centre-back has traded one treatment room for another without any significant success. Played just one game in his first season at Barcelona as he continued his extensive struggles with injuries.



Verdict: Miss (David Ramos/Getty Images)

It places a hefty price tag on Bellerin, who has only been a regular in Arsenal’s first team since January 2015 after a serious injury to Mathieu Debuchy. Were Barcelona to pay such a fee for their former youth product it make the full-back the fourth most expensive player in Nou Camp history, behind only Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Luis Suarez and Neymar.

Bellerin has offered little indication that he would consider departing the Emirates, though he described interest from his former club as “nice” last week.

In May Bellerin once more professed his happiness in London, where he swiftly settled on his arrival as a 17-year-old in 2011.

“I say every year that England is my home now,” Bellerin said.

“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.”

No Premier League defender provided more assists than Bellerin in the 2015-16 season and he continued that form in Spain’s friendly win over South Korea on Wednesday, providing an assist for Nolito in a 6-1 victory.

The Arsenal defender is set to battle with Atletico Madrid’s Juanfran for the starting spot in holders Spain’s first game of Euro 2016, against Croatia in Bordeaux.