Broadcaster Will O’Callaghan has recently made a claim about the situation of Mesut Ozil at Arsenal.
O’Callaghan was a guest on the latest episode of the OTB Football podcast and he discussed multiple potential transfers in European football.
While talking about Arsenal, he talked about the club’s playmaker Ozil and what the future might hold for the German. The broadcaster believes that Arsenal would have to pay to get Ozil to leave the club.
Should Arsenal be desperate to sell Ozil?
Absolutely!
No
The Telegraph recently reported that clubs in Saudi Arabia and Qatar have expressed their interest in signing the German but Ozil has ‘no intention’ of leaving the London-based club right now.
When talking about Ozil’s future at the Emirates, O’Callaghan believes that Ozil is happy to stay at the club till the end of his contract and if he was to leave before that, Arsenal would have to pay from their pockets to release him from the contract and help him secure a move.
The broadcaster said: “I get the impression that Mesut Ozil is actually genuinely more than happy to sit on his contract at Arsenal and see this out.
“I think if he’s going to leave the Emirates, he’s going to be paid by Arsenal to go wherever he’s going to go. I think he’s going to look for some of that transfer before he leaves.
“I mean, going somewhere like Saudi Arabia or China or America appeared to be the options for Mesut Ozil, as opposed to being sold inside European football.
“I don’t think there are too many big clubs in Europe who would be willing to pay him over £250,000 a week post-tax.
“So, as a result, you’re probably looking at one of those clubs who are willing to spend funny money and give him the €30-40 million a year that will be required to try and keep Mesut Ozil happy.”
TIF Thoughts…
Ozil didn’t play a single minute of first-team football post-lockdown for Arsenal and made 23 appearances in all competitions, scoring only a single goal in the 2019/20 season. He has also faced five different injury/fitness problems in the last two seasons.
The German earns a salary of £350,000 but his contributions have clearly been pretty limited for Arsenal. He is 31 and not getting any younger either.
So, Arsenal might not like to have a player who earns a lot but doesn’t contribute much to the club’s first team. Due to that, they may have to move Ozil on soon and ease their wage budget as well.