Football
Eren Sarigul, ESPN.com writer 7y

Arda Turan's agent denies contact with Arsenal; client happy at Barcelona

The agent of Barcelona's Arda Turan has denied receiving an offer or enquiry from Arsenal regarding his client.

The Times on Thursday reported that Arsenal are plotting a £25 million move for the attacking midfielder, with the former Atletico Madrid man tipped as a replacement for Mesut Ozil, who is out of contract at the end of next season.

However, Turan's agent Ahmet Bulut revealed that he has not heard from Arsenal regarding his client.

"There is currently no offer, there is nothing to speak of right now, " Bulut told ESPN FC.

"I have not been contacted by Arsenal. As I said before, he is happy at Barcelona and has three years left on his contract."

Positionally, Turan would be competing with Alex Iwobi and Aaron Ramsey in Arsenal's current 4-2-3-1 setup.

Turan is capable of playing on the left, right or in the middle of attacking midfield, but he would not be a like-for-like replacement with a playmaker like Ozil.

Though Bulut said Turan is keen on seeing out the remainder of his contract at Barcelona, the player faces an uncertain future at the club.

Current Barcelona manager Luis Enrique played a major role in signing Turan from Atletico Madrid in 2015, as Barcelona paid £26 million despite serving a transfer ban at the time.

And Enrique has backed Turan since his arrival at the club and rejected two offers from China, but with the manager set to leave Barcelona after this season, Turan may find himself short of influential backers while the incoming manager or the board could end up having the final say.

Turan has flirted with the idea of playing in England in the past and was last month reported to have bought property in London.

The 30-year-old is currently in his best scoring form since joining the La Liga from Galatasaray in 2011, with 13 goals and seven assists in all competitions.

The experienced attacking midfielder already has 11 trophies to his name, spread across stints at Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Galatasaray. And considering Barca are still in the title race in La Liga, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey, he may just add to his silverware collection before the end of the season.

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