Arsenal is said to be negotiating with Turkish club Fenerbahce to explore the possibility of sending Mesut Ozil on loan to Turkey this coming January. Reports are rife that Arsenal team manager Unai Emery has been unimpressed with the German star and that plans are underway to offload by the next transfer window.
The problem is Ozil's weekly salary of £350,000, which is proving to be a big turn off. So the Gunners have decided to sweeten the deal. They'll send the German playmaker to any interested parties on loan, and Arsenal will shoulder a portion of his pay.
It appeared that the deal had been bought by Fenerbahce, which according to The Sun is all set "to revive their interest in the World Cup winner."
The report added that talks are now underway between Arsenal officials and Fenerbahce's director of football Damien Comolli to iron out a deal on the 31-year-old Ozil, who also played for Real Madrid before joining the North London club in 2013.
Fenerbahce, by the way, is no stranger to the German as the report described the team as Ozil's "boyhood club."
Rumors have been floating around that the Gunners have been plotting to guide Ozil to the exit door. Even Arsenal legend Ray Parlour joined the discussion and recently offered his observation that the German is now deemed surplus in the Arsenal roster.
It seemed deliberate on Emery's part too that Ozil has only appeared in one match for the ongoing season. The Arsenal TM also omitted the German from two Premier League matches, which further fueled the speculations that Emery is overlooking the Arsenal playmaker on purpose.
On this, there was no denying the recent statement given by Emery. He just allowed that as part of the Gunners, Ozil needs to continue working.
"When I decided he shouldn't be in the squad, it's because I think other players deserved it more," Emery was reported by Metro as saying.
For his part, Ozil seemed to be gradually realizing that he is on the way out. During the last game played by the Gunners, it dawned on Ozil that might have been his last with the squad, the Mirror reported, adding that Emery was not pleased with the player's attitude during training.
The same report indicated that teams from the Major League Soccer in the United States had expressed interest in acquiring Ozil, but nothing materialized because of a big stumbling block. Again, the player's huge paycheck is turning away prospects.
