Mesut Ozil Offered to Turkish Clubs as Arsenal Look to Raise Transfer Funds This Summer
By Ben Carter
Arsenal playmaker Mesut Özil has apparently been offered to Turkish giants Fenerbahce, Galatasaray and Istanbul Basaksehir as the north Londoners look to raise money for a summer rebuild ahead of the 2019/20 campaign.
The former Germany international, who has two years left on his current contract, is deemed to be surplus to requirements by those in charge at Emirates Stadium, but so far the club have been unsuccessful in their attempts to move on their top earner.
Having been offered to teams in Italy during the January transfer window, Calcio Mercato now reports that Arsenal have tried to send Özil to the Turkish Süper Lig.
According to the Italian publication, Fenerbahce and Galatasaray have both been offered the chance to sign Özil in a cut-price €30m deal, as well as Istanbul rivals Basaksehir.
The Gunners are even claimed to have offered to pay part of Özil's £350,000 a week wages over the next two years, but it's unknown if any of the three clubs would be interested in making a marquee signing.
Galatasaray, who have a history of signing household names in the latter stages of their careers, and Istanbul Basaksehir have qualified for the Champions League, but both sides would struggle to meet Özil's wage demands.
Fenerbahce, meanwhile, have missed out on European football altogether and they've already committed a large chunk of their wage budget to sign rumoured Liverpool target Max Kruse from Werder Bremen.
It's looking increasingly likely that Arsenal will be forced to go into the new season with Özil still on their books, something which recent reports in England earlier this week have already tipped to be the case.