Galatasaray have broken their silence ahead of a potential January move for Arsenal’s Premier League bench-warmer Mohamed Elneny, via Bursa Hakimiyet.
Was last week’s 2-0 Carabao Cup victory over Leeds United Elneny’s penultimate appearance in the iconic red and white of Arsenal?
With no European football on the table, one of the longest-serving members of Mikel Arteta’s squad has found game time even harder to come by this season.
Two of his three appearances have come in the EFL Cup and, even with Granit Xhaka stuck on the sidelines, Elneny has played just 44 minutes of football at Premier League level since 2021/22 began.
December’s quarter-final clash with third-tier Sunderland, then, may be the last time we see Elneny in an Arsenal shirt.
Will Mo Elneny leave Arsenal for Galatasaray in January?
According to Turkish publication Sporx, Elneny has agreed a deal that will see him join Galatasaray when the winter window creaks open in less than two months.
It’s understood Arsenal may be willing to rip up his £50,000-a-week contract having already allowed Shkodran Mustafi, Mesut Ozil, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Willian to leave the Emirates on free transfers.
Arsenal continue to be locked in a cycle of overpaying and underselling which, as far as trends go, isn’t a great one.
And when asked to respond to the speculation, Galatasaray’s vice-president admitted work was indeed under way to bring in a defensive midfielder in the Elneny mould.
“There are things that have been talked about for a long time in the number six role. Our president and our manager are working on this issue,” explains Rezan Epozdemir.
“We are talking about a dynamic process. We will try to make the most reasonable transfers in line with our budget and our possibilities.”
Elneny, who could be followed out the door by the similarly seldom-seen Ainsley Maitland-Niles, has fallen further down the Arsenal pecking order following the arrival of Albert Sambi Lokonga and Thomas Partey’s return to fitness.
Alexandre Lacazette and Sead Kolasinac could also leave the club on free transfers in 2022.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
