Linked with Everton in January, Arda Turan punished with 16-game ban

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Premier League outfit Everton were given the chance to sign Arda Turan from La Liga giants Barcelona in January.

Arda Turan would have been hoping that a return to Turkey in January would give him a new lease of life after a hugely disappointing spell at Barcelona.

The former Galatasaray winger joined the newly rich Istanbul BB on loan until the end of the 2018/19 season four months ago – but not after his agent had reportedly attempted to push him towards Everton.

Catalan paper Mundo Deportivo claimed that Ahmet Bulut was trying to find his client a new club away from the Camp Nou and had hoped that Everton or Serie A giants AC Milan would make a bid for a player Barca signed for £32 million from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2015.

And it remains to be seen whether Turan, who was part of the Atleti side who stunningly won the La Liga title in 2014, would have been better off at Goodison Park, because it’s not exactly working out in Turkey right now.

Instanbul have dropped to third place in the Turkish Super Lig table after previously looking like the favourites to win the division – and they will now have to do without their marque signing for quite some time.

The Sun is reporting that Turan has been handed a massive 16 game ban for shoving a linesman during a recent 1-1 draw with Sivasspor. The referee, in his post-match report, even claimed that Turan said ‘you all need to be killed’ in an explosive rant after being sent off.

It’s been an unhappy season at Everton, and they could do without this kind of drama right now, so maybe not signing Turan was a good call.