It appears as though Arda Turan will be staying in Spain after all. According to Sport, Barcelona have reached an agreement with Atlético Madrid over the transfer of the Turkey international, who could spend the next five seasons at the Camp Nou.
Arda has already made it known to Atlético that he wants to leave the Vicente Calderón. Despite the fact Manchester United and Chelsea have pushed to sign him, Barcelona are the club who are set to secure his services in a deal worth €35m plus add-ons, even though his buyout clause is set at €41m. Despite that, Arda’s representative, Ahmet Bulut, has denied the existence of negotiations with Barça to EFE: “There are no contacts.”
Two important questions have now arisen. The first concerns the fact that Barcelona are in the midst of the electoral process (the elections will take place on July 18). Given that this is the case, how have the interim board managed to seal the deal for Arda? The second issue pertains to when the Turkey international will first wear the Barcelona shirt in an official match, as the club are subject to a FIFA sanction until January 2016. He will train with Barcelona and take part in friendlies, like Aleix Vidal, Barça’s first summer signing, or he might be loaned out to another club (Galatasaray have been touted as a possible temporary destination).