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Barcelona: Arda Turan key for next season

By Tarek Hisham

BARCELONA, SPAIN - JANUARY 06: Arda Turan of FC Barcelona in action during the warm up prior to the Copa del Rey Round of 16 first leg match between FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol at Camp Nou on January 6, 2016 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
BARCELONA, SPAIN - JANUARY 06: Arda Turan of FC Barcelona in action during the warm up prior to the Copa del Rey Round of 16 first leg match between FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol at Camp Nou on January 6, 2016 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images) /
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Arda Turan joined Barcelona after a six month transfer ban and never quite settled in but the midfielder must be a key player next year

Barcelona brought Arda Turan to the Catalan side to bring steel and discipline to the midfield but he has struggled to make that sort of impact. In a season where the club’s lack of depth was brought to the forefront in a late season slump, the Turk’s lack of production became especially glaring.

The signing was supposed to help Barcelona increase the distance between themselves and their rivals because of the versatility that Turan offered. He is capable of playing several positions in the midfield as an attacking mid, central mid, or even out wide as a winger. His fire and competitive edge was also supposed to give Barcelona’s team of flair players in midfield more bite and steel.

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The UEFA imposed transfer ban on Barcelona that forced Turan to spend six months on the bench certainly hampered all that as it did not give him much time to mesh with his teammates. Sure he was allowed to train with them but true team bonds are built under pressure in competitive matches.

As a player who was a leader at Atletico and one of the stars, it also took him some time to mesh with the culture of the club and adapt to his new role as more of a supporting player than the one leading the line. It can often take a new signing time to adjust to new surroundings and a new style of play and the aforementioned ban delayed that process even further.

This season aside, Turan has the chance next year to become a key player for the Blaugrana. They will not be featuring in the FIFA Club World Cup again but Barcelona is always involved in several competitions at once. There will be plenty of minutes to go around and Turan will have opportunities to show off his prodigious talent.

His versatility will be the key to that as he can become Luis Enrique’s Swiss army knife in midfield, much like Sergi Roberto was utilized all over the field. As noted earlier, Turan can cover all of the midfield positions and can provide valuable depth at all of those positions.

It is unlikely that he will ever unseat Sergio Busquets or Ivan Rakitic but he could push Andres Iniesta for a larger role in the squad. Iniesta has been brilliant for so many years but the diminutive midfielder is 32-years-old and may not be able to play as many minutes as he has in the past.

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If Barcelona hope to repeat their historic treble and protect their La Liga title, players like Arda Turan must be given larger roles and of course be able to handle that increased responsibility. Ideally the Turkish midfielder will be able to build on the experiences of the 2015-16 season and truly find his feet in the Camp Nou.

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