Medipol Basaksehir confirm they're close to signing Barça's Arda Turan

The president of Medipol Basaksehir, Goksel Gumusdag, has confirmed an agreement is close for the club to sign Arda Turan but also made it clear that talks must be closed with Barcelona before anything is official. 

Gumusdag said that he met with Arda in Barcelona and held talks with the Catalan club's CEO, Oscar Grau, over a potential deal. 

In a statement commented on the Turkish club's website and signed by the president, Medipol Basaksehir clear up some of the information that has been reported over their move for Arda. 

"We have carried out a series of negotiations over the possibility that Arda Turan could leave Barcelona," the statement said. 

"Last Sunday, we sent our lawyer to Barcelona to begin negotiations. He was followed by vice president Mustafa Saral, who met with the player's agents and Barça's representatives. 

"I, personally, joined them and also met with Arda Turan to speak face to face about his opinion on our club. 

"Our directors have been speaking with his agents and they have told us that Arda Turan would be very happy to wear our shirt, that he's ready to return to the elite and to play for us. Later, I also met with Oscar Grau, Barça's CEO.

"I would say that Arda Turan is ready to come to us and that despite the cost of the operation, our two main sponsors are ready to make a sacrifice to get the deal done."  

Medipol Basaksehir would pay four million euros to have Arda for the remainder of the season and six million more for next season. 

However, Goksel Gumusdag warns that "we have to respect Barcelona and we have to wait for the necessary procedures to be carried out. My team, the player's agents and Barcelona are in contact and we hope for a positive outcome."