Arda Turan has been thoroughly disappointing during his time at Barcelona. Signed from Atletico Madrid for a remarkable €34+7million in the summer of 2015, the Turkish international was heavily tipped to become a regular starter who could take the Catalans’ attack into the next level. Regrettably, the Camp Nou giants are left with no option but to sell the 30-year-old to the highest bidder only a couple of seasons later as he has certainly not lived up to expectations.
Barcelona are currently second favourites, as per sport.netbet.co.uk/livebetting, to become La Liga champions next season. There’s no two ways about it: it is obvious that Barca needs to reinforce their squad in order to regain the domestic league crown in 2017/18. Given the huge price tags being discussed during the current transfer window, the Catalans are pretty much forced to invest heavily if they are to attract world-class talents such as Marco Verratti or Hector Bellerin in the near future.
‘Where does Arda Turan fit in all of this?’ I hear you asking. Well, it all comes down to money, I’m afraid.
Frustratingly, the Barcelona board are notorious for their ongoing inability to persuade prospective buyers to splash the cash in order to lure away players from the Camp Nou. However, the club is in desperate need of reinforcements and selling the Turkish international on the cheap is simply not an option at this moment in time.
Turan has certainly not excelled at Barcelona, but nobody can deny that he could still be a valuable asset to the vast majority of clubs on the planet. Having been instrumental for Atletico Madrid’s success while at the Vicente Calderon, it would not be wise to rule out a remarkable return to form if fully motivated after a much-needed change of scenery. Although the 30-year-old was nothing more than a frustrated substitute during the final third of the campaign, his 13 goals and seven assists since the season started prove that he could still play a valuable role in a new team if given the chance.
Guangzhou Evergrande FC, from the Chinese Superleague, reportedly offered a massive €50million transfer fee to Barca and a €20million wage per season to Turan. Rejecting such an astonishing offer was clearly a mistake and, what’s worse, Guangzhou are no longer interested in signing the player at this point.
Juventus, Besiktas, Arsenal, Inter Milan and several Chinese teams have reportedly expressed an interest, so hopefully the Camp Nou giants would have cashed in for the Turkish international by then. Barcelona return to training on the 12th July. Ideally, the club should have finalised Turan’s exit before that date in order to avoid a clearly awkward situation for newly-appointed manager Ernesto Valverde.
