Arda Turan is eager to return to former club Atletico Madrid after a disappointing spell at Barcelona. The Turkish star has been unable to hold down a regular
90 Min | Aug 8, 2017
Arda Turan is eager to return to former club Atletico Madrid after a disappointing spell at Barcelona.
The Turkish star has been unable to hold down a regular starting position at Camp Nou, after making the €34m switch Atletico, where he built a reputation as one of La Liga's finest midfielders during his four year spell.
30-year-old Turan has had to battle Andres Iniesta, Ivan Rakitic and others for a first-team spot since his move to Catalonia in 2015 – while Denis Suarez, Andre Gomes and Rafinha also continue to provide more than comfortable competition for places ahead of the 2017/18 season.
Marca believe Turan is eager to rejoin Atletico – despite the club being unable to sign new players until January thanks to their FIFA-imposed transfer ban – but the report also claims Diego Simeone's side have no immediate plans to sign the midfielder.
Turan had to wait until January 2016 in order to make his debut for Barcelona due to another transfer ban, and was never seriously considered by former manager Luis Enrique as a regular starter.
The 30-year-old has had offers from the Chinese Super League and from his native Turkey, with Galatasaray said to be interested in their former youth product, who scored 45 times in 197 appearances during a seven-year spell in Istanbul.
The departure of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain has seemingly not helped Turan's bid for more game time at Barcelona under new Barca manager Ernesto Valverde. Re-signed youth stars Gerard Deulofeu and Denis Suarez were used during Monday's pre-season fixture against Chapecoense.