Arsenal and Mesut Ozil are close to terminating the midfielder’s contract early, after which he is expected to join Fenerbahce as a free agent on a three-and-a-half-year deal.

The 32-year-old, the highest earning at Arsenal, has not played for Arsenal since March after being disqualified by manager Mikel Arteta.

Ozil has not been registered in Arsenal’s Premier League and European League teams this season, and has had the freedom to speak to other clubs since the start of January with his contract with Arsenal expiring in the summer.

The former German international is now expected to join Fenerbahce during the transfer window in January, and the Turkish club hopes to confirm the deal in the coming days.

These developments come after progress has been made in talks between Arsenal coach Edo, Fenerbahce manager Emery and Ozil’s agent. Arsenal have made it clear that they want to leave Ozil in January.

Ozil’s wages – who currently earn around £ 350,000 a week – are not expected to be an issue, and it is believed that he will forfeit a portion of the wages owed on the remainder of his contract with Arsenal.

2:27

Fenerbahce is under increasing pressure to fulfill financial fair play regulations and he made clear during the negotiation process that he would not be able to pay any significant transfer fees to Arsenal.

The club will be helped by part of Ozil’s gross income agreement funded by the Istanbul-based Exxen Media Group, which in turn will retain some of the rights to its image.

Emre – who spent three years as a player with Newcastle – believes Ozil could play a major role as a mentor for the young Fenerbahce players.

Ozil representatives also held talks with the MLS DC United team. In a Q&A on Twitter earlier this week, Ozil expressed his desire to play in Turkey and the United States before his retirement.

In response to another question, he wrote: “If I go to Turkey, I can only go to Fenerbahce.

“I grew up as a fan of Fenerbahce when I was a kid in Germany – every German-Turk supports the Turkish team when they grow up in Germany.

“And I was Fenerbahce. Fenerbahce is like Real Madrid in Spain. The biggest club in my country.”

Ozil, who arrived at Arsenal from Real Madrid in 2013, scored 44 goals and scored 77 assists in 254 games for the club.

Follow the January transfer window with Sky Sports

The winter transfer window is open until Monday, February 1 at 11 PM.

Follow all news and analysis on Sky Sports News And across Sky SportsDigital platforms, incl Transfer center Blog.