Arsenal appear to finally be closing in on the departure of Mesut Ozil, with sources this morning reporting that the Gunners have agreed a deal in principle with the player that will see his contract terminated, 6 months before his contract was due to expire.
The Athletic reported on Saturday morning that Arsenal have agreed a deal in principle that will see Ozil leave this month.
Ozil is set to move to Turkey and play for Fenerbache. The Turkish club will not pay any fee to Arsenal, instead the Gunners are expected to pay a settlement fee to free Ozil from his contract early. Mesut was entitled to £350,000 per week until the end of the season and a loyalty bonus if he were to see out his contract. This would total around £7million, it is unknown at this stage what the settlement fee is.
Mikel Arteta has made no secret that this squad is too big and the departure of Sead Kolasinac and now seemingly Ozil will help free up funds and squad space to sign new players this month. Others could also join those two in leaving with Skhodran Mustafi and Sokratis amongst those linked away and also with just 6 months left on their deals. Arsenal are clearly clearing the decks of players who will not be at the club long term.
Coupled with Kolasinac’s salary, that frees up more than £500,000 per week for the club.
So who could the club sign this month? There is still an obvious lack of creativity at the club, highlighted in the teams 0-0 home draw against Crystal Palace on Thursday. Emiliano Buendia of Norwich is amongst those of that profile linked with a move to the club, but the Argentinean midfielder would not come cheap with his club aiming for promotion this season.