Everton offered chance to sign Barcelona outcast Arda Turan
Turan's agent has offered his client to both Everton and AC Milan, two clubs who spent vastly in the summer.
The agent of Barcelona outcast Arda Turan has offered his client's services to Everton and AC Milan as he bids to find the midfielder a way out of Catalonia, where he has not featured at all under Ernesto Valverde during the current campaign.
Turan has failed to make any sort of sustained impact since joining Barca from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2014. The former Turkey international had to make do with a peripheral role under former boss Luis Enrique, but new manager Valverde has seen fit to cast the 30-year-old aside completely during the current campaign, which has seen the Blaugrana race to the top of La Liga, establishing a nine-point lead over second-placed Atletico Madrid.
The former Galatasary playmaker was recently linked with a return to his homeland, but a move back to Turkey now looks rather unlikely, according to Mundo Deportivo. With that in mind, his agent, Ahmet Bulut, is attempting to find his client a new club in Italy and England, with AC Milan and Everton reportedly in his sights.
The Rossoneri have signalled an interest in the former Atletico star, but Everton already have a number of players capable of operating in central attacking positions and would presumably need to rid themselves of the likes of Davy Klaassen and Muhamed Besic before considering a deal for Turan, who is earning around £120,000-a-week ($162,000) in Catalonia.
Turan still has two-and-a-half years left to run on his contract in Barcelona, who are not willing to waive a transfer fee for the Fatih-born midfielder despite Valverde making it abundantly clear that he has no future with the Spanish league leaders. Barcelona reportedly value Turan at €20m, but they will be hard-pressed to find any club in Europe who would be willing to pay such a fee.
Despite being consigned to the Camp Nou doldrums, Turan remains convinced he can work his way back into Valverde's thinking during the second half of the campaign. His representatives are still trying to convince the likes of Everton and Milan to do business, but Turan is open to staying in Barcelona and proving that his career in Catalonia has not been a waste of time, though it remains to be seen if he included in the squad to face Celta Vigo in the Copa Del Rey on Thursday (4 January).