Barcelona hierarchy clash over €20m January signing, not all convinced by world-class target

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Barcelona are reportedly keen on snapping up Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil in the January transfer window, but not everyone at the club is in favour.

The German international will become a free agent next summer as his current contract with Arsenal is set to expire at the end of the season.

However, as noted by Sport, a €20m move in January could be lined up by Barcelona as they eye a cut-price deal with Arsenal seemingly ready to get what they can for the 29-year-old rather than lose him for nothing six months later.

According to the same report though, while Barca director Raul Sanllehi is leading the charge to get Ozil to join the Catalan giants, not everyone else shares his enthusiasm over making the deal happen.

Aside from some questioning the timing of the deal, it’s claimed that they’re not sure it’s good business splashing out on a player who could arrive on a free transfer next summer, along with concerns over his impact on the dressing room, his habit of disappearing in big games and some ‘personal life’ issues that led to his Real Madrid departure.

In fairness, many of those concerns are warranted, as if Ozil is likely to leave Arsenal at the end of the season, then it seems more sensible to wait it out and try to reach a pre-contract agreement with him rather than look to sign him in January.

Ernesto Valverde has established a good balance in his side so far this season, as seen with their lead at the top of the La Liga table while they also sit top of their Champions League group too, and so adding players in January risks disrupting that and their bid to win major trophies.

As for reservations over Ozil himself, while his world-class creative qualities can’t be questioned, his lack of influence especially in the big games for Arsenal has often been heavily criticised by the media and pundits, and so it really is debatable as to whether this would be a smart move from Barcelona even though his technical quality and creative abilities would suit their style of play.

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