Arda Turan's Barcelona January exit edges closer as Istanbul Basaksehir confirm fruitful meeting

Arda Turan's nightmare spell at Barcelona is close to an end after Istanbul Basaksehir confirmed they have held a fruitful meeting with the player and the La Liga giants to lure Turkey international back to his homeland during the January transfer window.

Chairman Göksel Gümüşdağ says that the three parties "agree in principle about many points" but the Turkish outfit still need to settle terms with the Catalan giants to complete the transfer.

Turan, 30, joined Barcelona from Atletico Madrid during the summer of 2014 in a deal worth €34m (£30m, $40.5m) plus add-ons.

He was initially unable to play during his first six months at the club due to a transfer ban and has since struggled to make an impact at the Nou Camp.

The former Atletico playmaker has not played a single minute during the opening half of the current season after being deemed surplus requirements by manager Ernesto Valverde.

Barcelona have thus been desperately trying to get rid themselves of the player since the summer.

Beşiktaş, Galatasaray, Everton and AC Milan have all been touted as potential destinies for the midfielder this January but Mundo Deportivo recently claimed that his €7m (£6.1m, $8.3m) a year salary [equivalent to £120,000-a-week] is becoming a stumbling block for his suitors.

Barcelona made a big investment to sign him but they are now ready to let him go on the cheap in order to cut his huge salary from the wage budget.

And Basaksehir looks ready to fulfil the demands of both Turan and Barcelona after the club chief expressed his optimism about the possibility of signing him ahead of the second half of the season.

"I would like to make an official statement regarding to the news about the meetings between Arda Turan and our club: We had meetings after the possibility of Arda Turan leaving Barcelona and our club lawyer finally went to Spain," Basaksehir Chairman Göksel Gümüşdağ confirmed through an official statement.

"Regarding to some positive outcomes; our Vice Presidents Mustafa Saral, Mesut Altan, Ömer Ayvacı and our player representative came to Spain in order to come together with Barcelona Football Club. I also came here with them to talk with Arda face to face. I wanted to find out how he would feel about playing in Medipol Başakşehir in case there is an agreement between the two clubs. During the meetings with Barcelona, I spent time with Arda and saw that he would be very happy to play for us and that he felt very ready and ambitious.

"Shortly, Arda's desire and ambition together with the club being positive about the possible transfer, I am going back to Turkey with a favorable impression considering our two big sponsors being ready for such a big transfer. I understand the excitement of the sports media and I feel the same. Yet, we should respect the corporate structure of Barcelona Football Club and have to wait until the necessary transfer procedures are completed.

Even though we agree in principle about many points, there are a few more to clarify. Our club is in touch with Barcelona FC representatives. I hope that they will come back with positive news."

Basaksehir are currently leading the table in the Turkish Super Lig ahead of Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe and Besiktas.

In January last year they made a high profile addition by signing former Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur star Emmanuel Adebayor while in the summer they also lure Gael Clychy from Manchester City after the France left-back ended his contract at the Premier League giants.