Galatasaray president confirms interest in Barcelona outcast

Galatasaray president Dursun Ozbek has confirmed the club are trying to re-sign Barcelona midfielder Arda Turan.

Turan came through Galatasaray’s youth academy before spending six years in their first-team ahead of a blockbuster move to Atletico Madrid in 2011.

The former Turkey international joined Barcelona in 2015 but has struggled to make any real impact at the club and Ozbek has confirmed he wants Turan back at his boyhood club.

“Arda is a Galatasaray fan, he really loves the club and he is going to play for us again,” The Daily Mail quote Ozbek as saying.

“His only chance of playing in Turkey is here, and we hope he ends up seeing out his career at Galatasaray. We are working on his transfer.”

Any potential return to Galatasaray is complicated by the finances involved after Turan made the switch from Atletico to Barcelona in a deal worth €34m (£30.7m).

Only Arsenal forward Lucas Perez (1 every 27.2 minutes of action) played a direct hand in Champions League goal more frequently than Turan (every 34 minutes) last season.