Arda Turan wants to stay at Barcelona and fight for his place rather than move to another league, according to the player’s agent.
The Turkey midfielder struggled to make an impact at Barça last season after joining from Atlético Madrid. He was unable to play for the first half of the season because of Barcelona’s transfer embargo and when finally eligible, he featured for only 810 minutes in the league, scoring two goals and providing four assists.
The 29-year-old is keen to stay with the Spanish champions, despite reports Arsenal and Chelsea are monitoring his situation, along with Juventus and Borussia Dortmund.
“The interest [in Arda] is normal but the rumours saying he is leaving Barcelona are false, he is happy at the club,” the agent, Ahmet Bulut, told the Guardian.
Turan spent four years at Atlético Madrid and won the club’s first league title for over a decade under the stewardship of Diego Simeone, as well as the Spanish Cup, the Europa League and the European Super Cup.
Turan scored 22 goals and provided 32 assists in 177 games before earning himself a €34m move to Barcelona last summer. He signed a five-year deal.
The Barcelona president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, said recently: “The coaching staff count on Arda Turan and we thank both him and Aleix [Vidal] for the patience they showed to go six months without being able to play.”
Meanwhile Barcelona have signed the France full-back Lucas Digne from Paris Saint-Germain for €16.5m (£13.9m).
The 22-year-old, who played 33 times for Roma last season during a loan spell, joins on a five-year deal and is the second France defender to join Barcelona this summer after the arrival of Samuel Umtiti from Lyon.
Digne, who has won 13 caps, was part of the France squad at Euro 2016, but did not play as the hosts reached the final.