Reports have emerged today claiming Real Madrid will bid for Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil, should James Rodriguez leave for Manchester United or Chelsea
Rodriguez has found playing time hard to come by at Real Madrid after dropping down the pecking order under Zinedine Zidane. The Colombian international has played just 11 games for Real Madrid this season – 5 of which have come as a substitute – and is said to be growing frustrated at the lack of playing time at the Bernabeu.
Zidane has insisted that Rodriguez is still a part of his plans and that he wants him to stay but United and Chelsea have repeatedly been linked with moves for the 25-year old attacking midfielder. There was even talk of a swap deal between United and Real Madrid for Rodriguez and Antony Martial but it appears that Real Madrid have other ideas.
Don Balon report that Real will instead look to bring back their former No.10 Mesut Ozil to the Bernabeu should Rodriguez depart. The report states that Ozil is still a favourite in Madrid and the club as well as its fans would welcome him back with open arms.
Madrid are also confident of sealing a deal for the German international given the lack of progress on his contract negotiations with Arsenal. Don Balon are of the opinion that this implies that the German is willing to negotiate a return to the Bernabeu.
Ozil only recently stated that he missed Real Madrid and that “you never know what happens in the future”, which many have taken as a hint that he wants to return. While it is true that contract negotiations are moving slowly, recent reports indicated there has been good progress.
Arsene Wenger has also openly said that Arsenal will not sell Mesut Ozil or Alexis Sanchez even if they do not renew their contracts and that they would rather lose them for free than lose them now. With Rodriguez set to leave in January, there is no chance that Madrid will have a chance of replacing him with Ozil in the same period.
However, regardless of Arsene Wenger’s comments, there is still a possibility that a summer bid could succeed. Ozil will only have one year on his contract come June and at 28, the midfielder is unlikely to have more patience with Arsenal should they fail to win any major trophies. Ozil is also a huge admirer of Zinedine Zidane and the opportunity to work with him may be a difficult one to pass up, even if he is also a huge fan of Arsene Wenger.
A huge bid could yet tempt the London club to part with their star midfielder but there is no chance of Ozil moving this January.
