Attacking midfielder Arda Turan has become, at the start of this new season, the best attacking partner for Leo Messi and Luis Suarez at the Nou Camp. Given the absence of Neymar Jr. at present, the Turk has assumed the role of false winger, and has emerged as an excellent goal threat for the champions of Spain. Up to now, he has managed to score thrice in as many official games (a couple in the Spanish Super Cup and one in the La Liga curtain-raiser against Betis), and once in the friendly games (against Celtic) and is looking really confident.
These are numbers that even the best strikers around the world would be happy to showcase. Apart from Turan, Munir (three goals in friendly matches and one in the Super Cup) has proven he is at the level expected for a good substitute at FC Barcelona and deserves more game time in the upcoming days, which will be a good sign for the European giants.
Which brings us to the question in hand, whether it is necessary to spend €30m on a fourth forward (possibly Valencia’s Paco Alcacer), when you already have Arda Turan and Munir providing such positive offensive results. Throwing €30m at a footballer that would be sitting on the bench more often than not does not make much sense.
The truth is that Barcelona are discovering a new Arda Turan at the start of this campaign, something that had attracted the attention of the Catalan club during his days with former club Atletico Madrid. The Turkish international was not up to the mark in the previous campaign (maybe due to not being unable to play until January due to the FIFA ban), yet has become an integral part of the squad alongside Messi and Suarez.
The former Atletico Madrid attacker is enjoying this new found freedom and has been showcasing a lot more confidence. There isn’t any pressure from Barça’s mid-fielders now on him, which has allowed him to make the spectacular leap in quality. With Turan playing in this newly assigned role and at a higher level, Barça sincerely do not need any more strengthening in this area.
When the Brazilian international Neymar does indeed return, he will surely start. The ‘MSN’ pairing is still untouchable, despite all the efforts put in by the Turkey international. Arda will surely once again be the ideal complement for the trident up front, so why exactly do Barça want another forward who will struggle to get playing time?
It would make a lot more sense to give this time to Turan or Munir, who have shown they can take advantage of their opportunities? Unless that fourth forward is just a whim of Luis Enrique’s…
