without question, one of the biggest pluses from Barcelona's pre-season has been the re-emergence of Arda Turan, who has gone from being a possibly dispensable member of the squad to the player who Luis Enrique will turn to in Neymar's absence.
His delightful chested assist for Luis Suarez in the first leg of the
Supercopa de Espana was a foot in the right direction, but his superb brace in
the second leg was the moment the Turkish midfielder really signalled his
return to form.
Both performances were somewhere near
the level that Barcelona had hoped for when they prised Turan away from
Atletico Madrid, and a vast improvement on those since the 29-year-old made his
debut in January.
Perhaps the key to this upturn in form
aside from becoming more familiar with his teammates is Turan operating on the
left of the attack with far less defensive responsibility than had been asked
of him previously.
Certainly Luis Enrique having such an
able foil for Neymar, one who appears to share an excellent chemistry with
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, is a huge bonus.
The arrivals of Andre Gomes and Denis
Suarez provide further options in the midfield, Lucas Digne will give Jordi
Alba the much needed competition at left-back, while Samuel Umtiti has already proven
his ability to fill-in in central defence.
These new alternatives give the
Asturian coach a much stronger looking squad for the new season and with
injuries to Javier Mascherano, Jeremy Mathieu and Andres Iniesta, the
46-year-old will immediately need to rely on these new faces.
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