Arsenal full-back Hector Bellerin favourite among Barcelona fans to replace Dani Alves

Arsenal's Hector Bellerin is the preferred candidate to replace Dani Alves at Barcelona at the end of the season should the Brazil international leave the Nou Camp.

Alves's current deal at Barca expires at the end of the 2014-15 campaign, though discussions have begun regarding a possible extension, with the 31-year-old is expected to leave the club after seven years with the Catalan giants.

And in a poll of Barcelona fans conducted by Spanish publication Sport, Bellerin – who only made his Arsenal Premier League debut in October 2014 – finished top of the voting, ahead of Liverpool's Glen Johnson, with 12% of supporters backing his addition.

However, 62% of the supporters polled said they preferred Alves to stay at Barcelona beyond the end of the campaign and that same following will have been buoyed by recent comments from the player's agent claiming he is ready to accept any contract offer.

Bellerin, a Spain Under-21 international, swapped Barca for Arsenal in 2011 and after making his professional debut in 2013, a brief spell on loan at Watford followed before his emergence in the club's first team this season.

Though he has ruled out following Cesc Fabregas in returning to the club after a spell at Arsenal, the player continues to have a strong emotional bond with the La Liga side.

"It was difficult because I left my family, my friends, but my dream has always been to be a footballer, not play at Barca," he told The Daily Telegraph. "Sometimes the train passes and you take it or not. Many people called me crazy when I left, but I'm showing that I was right. Life does not end at Barca.

"It's great to play at home and have everything where you've grown up but sometimes you've got to get out of your comfort zone and discover new challenges.

"I have been here for a long time now, this feels like home, but I am still Spanish, with all of my family over there. If I had stayed in Barcelona I don't know if I would have got to the top, the elite. We'll never know. I have Arsene Wenger to thank. He has been the coach that has given me a great opportunity."