Barcelona identify Arsenal contract rebel as potential Neymar replacement

Spanish giants Barcelona have reportedly earmarked Mesut Ozil as a potential candidate to replace Neymar, who made his way to Paris Saint-Germain in a world-record £198m deal earlier this month. The Germany international has just a year left on his existing Gunners contract, and he is apparently open to a return to La Liga, Don Balon claims.

Ernesto Valverde’s side are in the desperate need to reinforce their forward options this summer with Neymar’s exit having presented a noticeable void in the attack. The Catalunya-based club have been in regular contact with Liverpool over the possible signing of Philippe Coutinho in recent weeks, but the Reds have shown no intent of offloading their prime asset regardless of the transfer value on the table.

Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund’s Ousmane Dembele has also been eyed in a deal costing in excess of £100m with Barcelona looking into a long-term replacement for Andres Iniesta. Amid all this, Don Balon has suggested that Ozil is among the top candidates in Barcelona’s shortlist, and he could follow former Gunners in Alexander Hleb, Cesc Fabregas and Thierry Henry into making a switch to Camp Nou.

The World Cup winner has remained relatively mum over his transfer situation in recent weeks, but he has now decided to push for a Emirates exit with fellow teammate Alexis Sanchez also uncertain over his future. Arsenal currently find themselves in a situation where they could loss more than £100m in transfer fees in a year’s time but Arsene Wenger has been adamant that his key players are not for sale.

Ozil started his initial Gunners career on the left side of the attack, and his future could lie in a similar position, should he seal his move to Barcelona. As things stand, no deal has been sorted out between both clubs, and this transfer saga could potentially drag until the final week of the transfer window.

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