Barcelona Transfer News: Arda Turan Blow, Theo Walcott Rumours Emerge

FIFA have blocked Barcelona's attempt to have Arda Turan registered before the winter transfer window in the wake of the injury to Rafinha. According to Catalan rumours, the Blaugrana have identified Arsenal's Theo Walcott as a potential transfer target.

The Blaugrana lost Rafinha to an ACL injury during the Champions League match with AS Roma and are thin on available options in the wide areas, leading to a request to the Spanish football association to have Turan registered to play for the clubs despite the presence of the transfer ban.

According to Sport (h/t Daily Mirror's Ed Malyon), the Spanish FA shockingly agreed, only to have FIFA step in and make sure it didn't happen:

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Barcelona have been unable to register new players throughout 2015 owing to a FIFA transfer ban imposed over irregularities in signing youth players.

That ban expires in January, when Barca will be able to register summer signings Aleix Vidal and Arda Turan, but it didn’t stop the Nou Camp club attempting to get Turkey midfielder Turan on board early.

Astonishingly the RFEF gave their consent for Turan to be registered, only for FIFA to step in and remind them that no new players would be allowed to feature for the club until 2016.

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Former club director Toni Freixa previously claimed Barcelona could register new players as their transfer ban came to an end on September 1, per AS. And Cadena SER claimed FIFA sources agreed, per La Liga blogger Sergi Dominguez:

The rumour seemed incredibly unlikely when it first surfaced, given the current relationship between the club and FIFA. Barcelona found a way to circumvent the transfer embargo by signing players and simply not registering them, which just about defeated the purpose of the punishment to begin with.

With that in mind, FIFA was never going to turn around and agree to Turan being registered before January, regardless of Rafinha's injury.

Meanwhile, Mundo Deportivo (h/t Daily Mirror's Liam Corless) claim Arsenal forward Walcott has become a transfer target for the Blaugrana, who could step up their interest in the wake of Rafinha's injury.

Bogdan Maran/Associated Press

The Brazilian is expected to miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his knee, per Reuters (for the Daily Mail), and with only young options like Munir El Haddadi and Sandro Ramirez available to manager Luis Enrique, more cover is needed.

Walcott has started the 2015-16 season in excellent form and is starting to find his groove playing through the centre, having spent most of his career out on the wing. While he's not known as a prolific finisher, his recent record shows he does know how to score, per OptaJoe:

The 26-year-old is a fine player, but the link with Barcelona is an odd one, to say the least. By the time the January transfer window opens, The Catalans will be able to register players, and once Turan joins the club, the need for someone like Walcott will have reduced, barring major injuries.

And even if the club could use more depth out wide, Walcott seems an unlikely target. The England international is a solid player, but he bases his entire game around his raw speed, something that wouldn't fit Barcelona's tactical setup particularly well. He's not a great finisher or passer, and those are attributes you need to survive at the Camp Nou.

He's also a regular starter for the Gunners, so he would cost the club a pretty penny. And there's no way he would push starters Neymar, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez for playing time. Backups don't usually cost massive fees, and that's exactly what it would take to bring Walcott into the fold.

Celta Vigo's Nolito has routinely been mentioned as a potential target for the club, and he told Radio Marca (h/t Goal) he'd love to play for the Catalan giants once again. Compared to Walcott, he's a far more realistic and logical target, and expect the Blaugrana to target a player like that in January, not the Arsenal ace.

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