Barcelona insist Arda Turan will stay

Barcelona have no intention of selling Arda Turan despite his underwhelming performances in 2016, according to technical secretary Robert Fernandez.

The Turkey international joined Barcelona from Atletico Madrid in a deal worth €41 million in July, but he was not allowed to play until January due to a transfer embargo imposed on the Catalan club and has been struggling to live up to high expectations since making his debut at Camp Nou.

Recent reports suggested Barcelona could offload the 29-year-old ahead of the new season, but they have now moved to claim the attacking midfielder is going nowhere.

“Arda’s situation has not changed,” Fernandez said at a news conference.

“He has had a difficult season, but we all know that his performances the year before that were very good. We are waiting for the Arda Turan of Atletico Madrid to return.

“We never considered selling Arda. There is no doubt about it that he can be important and decisive.

“He obviously had a tough season, but we are excited about what he can do in the new season. We expect his contribution to be very important.”

Martin Montoya and Cristian Tello have also both been heavily linked with a move away from Barcelona, having been deemed surplus to requirements by Luis Enrique, and Fernandez has confirmed the duo are on their way out.

“There is nothing official yet regarding Montoya, but we are in talks with Valencia,” he added.

“Montoya and Tello have a contract with Barcelona and we respect them. There are offers for them.

“Montoya did well at Betis after his time at Inter, just like Tello at Porto and Fiorentina.”