Istanbul Basaksehir coach hints at Arda Turan departure

The Turkish midfielder could be headed for the exit in January.

After seeing his team demolish Kasimpasa 5-1 at home in their final game of the year, Istanbul Basaksehir coach Okan Buruk gave reporters an interesting answer when asked about Arda Turan’s lack of playing time.

Turan, on loan with the Turkish team from parent club Barcelona, is currently sidelined with a minor injury. He has made just 9 appearances for Basaksehir this season, almost all of which were as a substitute.

The 32-year-old has missed the entire month of December due to injury which has made matters worse for the player.

Reports in Turkey claim the former Atletico Madrid midfielder could leave Istanbul Basaksehir for another Turkish team in January in order to get more playing time with Galatasaray being one of the possible destinations.

Buruk set the rumour mill alight on Saturday evening following his team’s victory by suggesting “a new page might be better” for Arda.

“I spoke about Arda before and so has our president. Arda needs a new beginning. He needs to motivate himself more and set new goals. Arda has worked hard since the beginning of the season and has always done his best to earn the uniform. Sometimes he was able to play with us and sometimes he was not. There are many players in his position. Elia, Gulbrandsen, Robinho, they all played. It’s also possible that I didn’t give Arda the chance to play because there are many players,” the coach explained.

“It might be better in line with his objectives if a new page is opened for Arda. The one who can make the right decision in this case is Arda,” Buruk added.