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MLS side DC United are interested in signing Mesut Özil as a replacement for Wayne Rooney.
The ex-England and Manchester United captain is set to leave the Washington club in January, after agreeing a deal with Derby County to become player coach. Now they are in the market for a high profile replacement and have earmarked Ozil as one of their targets.
Despite still being popular with the fans, Özil has failed to convince his manager, Unai Emery, that he always merits a place in his first team, despite being the club’s top earning player on a £350,000 a week.
The Gunners would be prepared to listen to offers for the 30 year old former German international, but prospective suitors have been deterred so far by his prohibitive salary demands. Turkish side Fenerbahçe were one side interested in signing him, for example, but had to admit that he was out of their price range.
However, DC United may be willing to offer an out to both player and club, with representatives of both clubs set to meet in Washington next week for exploratory talks.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.