In accordance with their goals for next season, FC Barcelona have various strategic signings in mind that they believe ought to help them sustain their domestic progress while simultaneously enabling them to compete against the European elite.
Immediate signings such as those of Ilkay Gundogan from Manchester City and Inigo Martinez from Athletic Bilbao have been completed to strengthen the side for the upcoming 2023/2024 season, yet there are others that may be signed looking ahead to the future beyond it.
Turkish prodigy Arda Guler is one such possible signing. 18 years of age and already a household name amongst the Fenerbahce faithful and those that follow Turkish football. Agile, masterful, and elegant with his graceful style of football, the youngster is a sight to behold in terms of his footballing ability and it is no wonder so many European teams continue to have their interests sparked by him.
Barcelona are one such European side that is advancing day by day in securing a deal with the youngster on personal terms as well as with his Turkish club.
However, their proposal entails that the player remains in Turkey on loan for another season with an amount of the sum of his €17.5 release clause being paid by Barca then and there, with the second installment to be paid after the season ends and Guler is brought to Barcelona.
As per Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, while the player and his representatives are primarily not in favor of remaining in Turkey for another year, the player did in fact receive important bits of advice from two very important influences around the 25th of June.
Former Fenerbahce players Mesut Ozil and Alex De Souza both reportedly advised the youngster to remain in Turkey for another season before moving to Europe in order to best hone his potential and develop it before making the big leap.
Having already had a spectacular season at Fenerbahce this season across all competitions, if Guler agrees to the proposal given by Barcelona and led by soon-to-be Sporting Director Deco, the young Turk will remain in his home nation for the 2023/2024 season and potentially then join Barcelona in the summer of 2024 if things go according to plan.
