Arda Turan's agent has claimed the Barcelona star has "zero chance" of
leaving the Nou Camp during the summer transfer window. Ahmet Bulut
admitted that the former Atletico Madrid playmaker has struggled to make
the impact expected during his debut campaign under Luis Enrique, but is
convinced he will turn the situation around next season.
The 29-year-old moved to Barcelona last summer after the Catalans agreed
to pay €34m (£25.8m, $37.9m) plus add-ons to lure him away from the Vicente
Calderon, where he had been one of Diego Simeone's key charges. The agent
of the Turkey international linked his client with a number of Premier League clubs, including Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal, but the player opted instead
to join the La Liga giants despite being unable to play for them until January due
to the club's transfer embargo.
Turan has only started nine La Liga games, while in the recent Copa del Rey final
victory over Sevilla Luis Enrique opted to use Rafinha Alcantara ahead of him when
Luis Suarez suffered an injury early in the second half.Turan, along with former
Sevilla wing-back Aleix Vidal, trained with the rest of the Barcelona first-team squad
during
the first part of the campaign to accustom themselves to Luis Enrique's passing style. However the duo have failed to replicate the form they showed at their former clubs
during the second part of the season.
Sport and AS have both reported in recent times that Barcelona are ready to listen offers for the Turkish star, just a year after his arrival to the club, with a lucrative offer to move to China on the table.
Meanwhile, The Sun reported that Arsenal and Manchester United are also expected to take advantage of the situation to renew their interest in the player.
But Turan's agent has now claimed the star is ready to stay at Barcelona and is not expected to hold any talks with the club official regarding a potential move away from
the Catalan outfit.
"No [chance], zero, nothing," he said to Catalan radio station Rac 1 when asked
whether the player could leave the club in the summer. "He has won two titles and
is happy because in the first six months he could not play [due to Barcelona's transfer
ban]. When he signed for Atletico Madrid [in 2011] he had a bad first year but was
still a top player. I'm sure in his second season [at Barcelona] he will be fine. Turan still has four years remaining on his contract, so there is nothing to talk about with the club."
"Turan is focused on Turkey and I hope they reach the quarter or semi-finals. Then he [needs] a good holiday and to rejoin the pre-season with Barcelona and complete some good training [to prepare for next season]."