An inevitable turn of events has led to reports that Manchester United may have to accelerate their plans to sign Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil.
The German is apparently admired by Juventus, with the Italian club keen to bring in the out-of-contract player at the end of the season. Ozil has long been linked with a move to United but the prospect of signing for the Italian champions and essentially guaranteeing some league title medals instead of the admittedly difficult task of doing the same at Old Trafford may appeal to him.
Arsenal are expected to lose Alexis Sanchez in the same period, with many reports saying he is close to a move to Manchester City this week. City are once again flexing their muscles to pay between £30-40m in order to provide shorter term cover for their front line instead of using one of their heralded academy players.
In normal circumstances this would strengthen the Gunners’ resolve to keep Ozil but the unexpected interest from Juventus presents a situation where United may have to act fast to stop the Italians getting some leverage. Due to current rules, Juventus can already negotiate a contract with Ozil, whereas United will have to wait until later in the season. In that scenario, Mourinho will be determined to not lose out like he already did on Ivan Perisic, and is reportedly keen for the club to accelerate movement on the transfer. While reluctant, Arsenal will surely see £35m as a good return for a player they will lose for nothing in 6 months, particularly as their hopes of winning silverware this season were further dented by yesterday’s humiliating 4-2 defeat at Forest.
United are unlikely to challenge in the league but the signing of Mesut Ozil could give them a real boost as they seek to triumph elsewhere.
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