Valverde: Arda can bounce back

Ernesto Valverde insists Arda Turan can still “reverse his situation” at Barcelona and become an important player for them.

Reports on Saturday suggested Barca had opened talks with Galatasaray about sending Arda back to his formative club, the midfielder having yet to appear for the Blaugrana this season due to a spate of injuries.

It has been said that the Turk will not have a future at Camp Nou once he puts his fitness problems behind him, but Valverde suggested he was still counting on the former Atletico Madrid ace.

“Sevilla? They’re an important team, who come here in high spirits and with a good dynamic after putting some bad results behind them,” the Coach said at Press conference for Saturday’s clash with Sevilla in La Liga.

“Going into the international break with a win? We’ll have 15 days [without a game] and these are small challenges that you put on yourself.

“When it comes to preparing for a game, you don’t just look at your opponents. You also see how they did against you [in the past] and, in this case, the Coach too.

“Berizzo prepares for matches well and is known to face matches by looking at his opponents.

“They’ll try to play in our half of the pitch and make it difficult for us to come out, so it’ll be a complicated contest.

“Not paying attention to other games? Not until I see that it’s 93 minutes on the scoreboard and it won’t change.

“What I like most about the team? We try to show solidarity. There have been games that have been uphill battles for us, but the team have always gone forward.

“Sometimes we haven’t been brilliant, but we can always improve. Defensive balance? It’s always linked to how we attack. Our idea is to create a lot and concede little.

“Our objective is to be effective up top and create chances. Success depends on how we do that.

“Arda? I hope he can reverse his situation because he’s an experienced player. He’s injured at the moment, and we have to wait for him to recover.

“Dembele? He’s recovering and the process is normal. I talked him for a while and he was upbeat, but we don’t expect him to be back a month earlier.

“Suarez? He keeps getting chances, it’s a matter of perseverance with him. Ter Stegen? It’s quite obvious when goalkeepers are struggling, but they deserve praise when they’re playing at Ter Stegen’s level.

“For us, he’s a guarantee. We’re delighted with him. Fans that rush on to the pitch? What worries me is that it can spread, and it could become a real problem one day. The clubs, Leagues or UEFA must address this.”

Tags Arda Turan Ernesto Valverde
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