Atletico Madrid's Turkish winger Arda Turan appears to be closing in on a move to the Premier League after his agent, Ahmet Bulut, said a move to England this summer was 'likely'.

Reports in Spain and Turkey suggest that while Atletico made a commitment to keep Turan at the club earlier in the summer, Bulut's words now cast doubt on whether they can hold onto the 26-year-old with Liverpool and Chelsea preparing to swoop.

Speaking to Turkish television station NTV Spor, Bulut said: "The transfer of Arda to the Premier League this summer is likely.

"England is where most of the interest in him lies and they are well informed about Atletico's stance.

"They know that the Madrid club are rejecting all offers for him but that if the pay his release clause there is nothing the club can do.

"There have been discussions."

Bulut also confirmed that "a team from the French league", widely acknowledged to be Monaco, made an £14.5m bid for Turan last month but stressed that "both Atletico and Arda simultaneously rejected it."

Bulut added that there had been interest from Turkish clubs in taking the former Galatasaray star back to his homeland, but none of them have come close to meeting his release clause.

He said: "No team has come close to offering the €24m (£20m) stated in his contract, but there has been a lot of activity this summer."

According to Spanish paper AS, Atletico would be loathe to lose Turan, who is considered a vital squad member by coach Diego Simeone.

Last year Simeone praised Turan for being the best at "reading between the lines" of Atletico's attack, and there are concerns that Turan's departure would leave the coach with a distinct lack of creativity in midfield.

To further confuse the situation current Galatasaray coach Fatih Terim recently suggested that Turan's preference is to return to his former club.

Terim said: "I talked to him for two hours after Turkey-Ghana friendly and he told me that his desire is to return to Galatasaray and he is doing everything he can to return. 

"Indeed, I would encourage our President to talk with Atletico, although I understand what he means to them and I don't want to cause trouble."

However, it now seems that if Turan can be persuaded to move even further away from his homeland, he could be bound for the Premier League with either Liverpool or Chelsea. 

Source: Daily Express