Inter Milan enter Mesut Ozil transfer race after talks over new Arsenal deal 'slow down'

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James Benge28 September 2017

Inter Milan have confirmed their interest in signing Mesut Ozil in January.

The Arsenal playmaker’s contract expires at the end of the season and progress has slowed significantly over recent weeks.

Ozil has turned down terms worth over £250,000-a-week to commit his future to Arsenal and will be free to negotiate with clubs from outside England starting on January 1.

Inter Milan look set to emerge as a potential suitor for Ozil, who has also been linked to Barcelona and is likely to attract further interest if clubs are able to secure his signature without paying a transfer fee.

“He [Ozil] is definitely one of those players we are looking at, but the last January signings of [Lukas] Podolski and [Xherdan] Shaqiri proves winter signings can fail to live up to expectations,” Inter president Erik Thohir said.

Turkish giants Fenerbahce have also expressed an interest in Ozil’s signature whilst the World Cup winner has been linked with a reunion with Jose Mourinho, who managed him for Real Madrid, at Manchester United.

The 28-year-old Ozil has struggled with a knee injury over recent weeks and has not started a game since the 3-0 win over Bournemouth earlier this month. Both he and fellow contract rebel Alexis Sanchez have been notably inconsistent presences in the Arsenal side this season, though Gunners boss Arsene Wenger insisted in the case of the latter that he was not being punished.

Speaking over the summer Ozil urged Sanchez to commit his future to the club, adding that it was “my preference to stay”.

However in the intervening two-and-a-half months he has not put pen to paper, with Wenger admitting on September 14: “Contract talks have slowed down a little bit since August 31 because we need a little breather and to focus on the competition, but we will slowly get back into that.”