According to reports from Mirror Football yesterday evening, Arsenal are ‘plotting’ a new contract for club-record signing Mesut Ozil amid rumoured interest from Fenerbahce.
What’s the word?
Last week, Mesut Ozil’s agent, a Dr Erkut Sogut, surprisingly started talking up a shock move to Fenerbahce, telling Turkish news outlet Tavkim; “At Arsenal, Mesut is very successful in his performances. It’s too early to talk right now. But you cannot know the conditions. Fenerbahce seem serious about Mesut. It is difficult to predict in advance how Arsenal would respond. At the end of the season, we’ll see. However, leaving Arsenal for Fenerbahce could be a serious choice for him. They are one of Turkey’s biggest clubs.”
Don’t say we didn’t warn you. We predicted Sogut’s out-of-the-blue remarks would accelerate negotiations over a new deal at the Emirates, with the German international set to enter the final two years of his current contract at the end of the season, and according to Mirror Football that’s exactly what’s happened.
Any truth to the Fenerbahce rumours?
Ageing stars with low price-tags and big wages; the Turkish top flight’s more notable signings since 2012
Perhaps. Turkish football is certainly on the up. It’s top flight is the sixth-most lucrative in world football and relaxed restrictions on foreign players in January, which saw a number of high-profile names join flagship clubs Fenerbahce and Galatasaray during the summer; not least including Nani and Robin van Persie of Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund star Kevin Grosskreutz, Liverpool loanee Lazar Markovic and Arsenal’s very own Lukas Podolski.
Likewise, I’m sure Fenerbahce would love to sign a player as talented and marketable as the World Cup winning Gunners star, but whether they can afford him is a different issue entirely.
To give some perspective, their summer spending totaled at £30million; so are the Istanbul outfit really about to spend a similar amount on just one player, before his wages even come into the equation? Turkey’s top clubs have developed a clear model of attracting ageing stars with big salaries but low transfer fees; aged 26 and still in his physical prime, Ozil doesn’t quite fit.
Our overall assumption is that Dr Sogut has exaggerated Fenerbahce’s interest or intentionally refrained from discussing their limited spending power in an effort to catalyse contract talks.
Does Ozil deserve a new deal and will he get one?
Mesut Ozil’s Premier League form since signing for Arsenal in 2013. Worth £42million?
In theory, Ozil is meant to be Arsenal’s best player. In practice, however, he’s yet to truly deliver on his £42.2million price-tag – so it’s very much a matter of opinion if he deserves a new deal or not.
The German international’s world-class talent is evident on occasion and he currently boasts the most created chances per-match of any Premier League player – an impressive 4.4. But excepting a Man of the Match display against Napoli in 2013, just weeks after he signed for Arsenal, we’re still waiting for Ozil to prove the difference in an important game.
That being said, the Gunners spent an absolute fortune on bringing the attacking midfielder to the Emirates two summers ago. His stock is hardly at an all-time high right now (although not an all-time low either), so with his contract beginning to wind down, Arsenal may feel they need to agree extended terms simply to protect Ozil’s market value.
Likewise, John Cross is Mirror Football’s leading Arsenal correspondent and a life-long Gunners fan. Although he’s had his fair share of wide-of-the-mark reports, he’s a well-intended journalist who doesn’t try to actively mislead. That, in addition to the fact Arsenal have attempted to resolve a number of contract issues over the last few months, suggests Ozil probably will be offered new terms.
already is highest earner in club but not most important player by any means. Giving him bigger contract might not please other players. I say let him go if he or his agent are trying to earn more.
letting him go is not w@ the team want, keeping him & having a good negotiation & his presence in games are a wealth to the club.
nomatter want he is among da most talllented player everu club w’ld like to have though slow but his passings is wawu! No need to deny him a 5yrs contract within our club. Love Ozil