Arda Turan is a member of Barcelona. The Turkish star is only 28 and has a commanding offensive presence in the opponent's third of the pitch.

He will certainly be a worthy addition to the defending Treble Champions. However, the question with Turan is whether he should command a spot in the starting lineup or come off the bench. There is no doubt where Turan likely believes he belongs, on the pitch.

Does Turan deserve a starting spot?

Turan's strong traits include passing and dribbling among others. He is not a goalscorer, only putting up three goals in all competitions for Atletico Madrid (his career high in a season has been five goals and four assists in 2012-13). At 28 he is in his prime years and there is no doubt that playing behind the trident of Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi could boost his stats.

With Luis Enrique likely sticking to a 4-3-3, the question really comes down to one of two players that Turan could replace in the lineup.

Sergio Busquets is non-negotiable, considering that he and Turan play different positions. However, Ivan Rakitic and Andres Iniesta could be the ones to step aside for Turan.

Rakitic was purchased last season to step in for Xavi in the starting XI, thus providing the team with a more stable midfield general. At age 27, he is likely here for years to come and would probably not be an option for removable from the starters.

With Iniesta the situation becomes a bit more complex. The captain of the club is now 31 and by all accounts past his prime. The team is likely looking at the future of this core and knows that to ensure safe passage in years to come, replacements must be recruited. For years the team hung on to Xavi, relying heavily on him as his body started to let up on him. Barcelona experienced years of massive consistency between 2011-12 and 2013-14, winning just one of three possible Spanish Leagues and a grand total of two trophies in that span.

The tiki taka was losing its hold on the world and Xavi was aging rather quickly before everyone's eyes. Then came the 7-0 loss against Bayern Munich in 2012-13 followed by a trophy-less season in 2013-14 and the team realized that a replacement for Xavi was mandated. Enter Rakitic, who provided a different approach to the game, a more direct one that ultimately helped Barcelona to the treble.

Turan offers a similar stylistic divergence from Iniesta. Both players hold the ball well, but Turan, measuring 177cm to Iniesta's 170, is a more physical specimen that combines finesse with force on the offensive.

Iniesta is not a physical player and relies heavily on his reflex and his stamina, the latter of which is slowly abandoning him. It is certainly not the end of the line, but the underlying statistics sure indicate that the end is near for the Spanish playmaker.

In 2012-13, Iniesta was coming off a spectacular turn in the Euro 2012, arguably his finest tournament ever. That season he continued in rather fine form, creating a career-best 16 assists while making 1.4 key passes per game. He completed a tremendous 90.5 percent of his passes that season while featuring in 2,105 minutes. He was topping or matching his career averages in almost every statistical category that year.

Fast forward to 2014-15, a season in which Iniesta had flashes of brilliance throughout (see the Manchester City Round of 16 for evidence of his genius) and Iniesta was averaging less than one key pass per game. He had less than 60 passes per game. He managed less than 1.5 dribbles per game (his career average is 2.2) and he had one assist in the Spanish league despite playing 1,590 minutes (to his credit he had five assists in the Champions League playing in less than half of that time).

That number was a decline from even the 2013-14 season when he put up three goals and seven assists in 2,493 minutes, the second-most he had ever managed as a Barcelona player.

In essence, this is a player that at 31 is not his best self any longer.

How does Turan compare?

He had 1.1 key passes per game, completed passes at a career-high rate of 85.2 percent. He managed 1.3 dribbles per game. His numbers are not a huge upgrade over Iniesta, but Turan is not just an offensive powerhouse.

His defensive numbers are far superior to Iniesta's. Obviously that has a lot to do with Diego Simeone's system at Atletico Madrid, but there is no denying that this man can win back the ball, something crucial to Barcelona's successful passing game. He average 0.9 interceptions (to Iniesta's 0.4) per game and had about two tackles per game. His career averages in all defensive categories far surpass Iniesta's.

Of course, system is everything and there is certainly a chance that there would be an inflation in the Spaniard's numbers if he played in Simeone's system. However, Turan already has that experience and can add another weapon to Barcelona's attack.

He will not play until January, but the beauty of the situation is that Iniesta could be eased into the situation in the same manner Xavi was last season. The veteran was playing most of the games early on, but slowly became a super-sub by the end of the season.