Galatasaray chief: "We are in talks over Arda Turan"
Dursun Ozbek, president of the Turkish giants, is optimistic a deal can be reached for the Barcelona midfielder to return to his boyhood club.
Galatasaray are interested in taking former player Arda Turan back to the club from Barcelona with the Turkish giants’ president, Dursun Ozbek, confident that a deal can be struck for the 30-year-old midfielder.
Arda was an unused substitute in Monday’s Trofeo Joan Gamper game against Chapecoense and was little used last season by Luis Enrique, making only 14 Liga starts although he was also hit by a series of injuries. It remains to be seen if new Barça boss Ernesto Valverde plans to fit Arda into his scheme at Camp Nou but Ozbek plans to offer the former Galatasaray player a route to regular first team football.
Galatasaray chief: "We are working on a deal"
“Arda is a Galatasaray fan. He loves the club and he will serve this club again. The only option he has to play in Turkey is here and we want Arda to retire at Galatasaray. We are working on a deal to arrange his transfer,” Ozbek said during a press conference.
The player would prefer to remain at Barcelona but the signs during pre-season have not been encouraging, with Valverde preferring to try out younger players. If he decides to leave, it is likely Arda will also entertain offers from the Premier League, Ligue 1 and Serie A.
Barça are not interested in a loan arrangement for the midfielder and would like to get his six-million euro salary off the books. Arda cost the Camp Nou club 34 million euros when he signed from Atlético in 2015, with another seven million in variables, but will be allowed to leave if an offer of 15-20 million euros is forthcoming after turning down the chance to play in China earlier in the year.