Özil: Istanbul Basaksehir "would do anything" to sign Arsenal star

Turkish Super Lig club Istanbul Basaksehir are keen on an audacious swoop for Arsenal star Mesut Özil.

Former Germany international Özil has struggled for form and fitness at Emirates Stadium this season and was left out of the matchday 18 for the 2-0 midweek defeat to rivals Tottenham in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup.

Head coach Unai Emery restored Özil to the line-up for Saturday's 3-1 Premier League win over Burnley, but had refused to discuss pre-match whether or not the 30-year-old will be available for a loan or permanent transfer during the January window.

"I hope one day our paths will cross at Basaksehir"

Inter and Real Madrid are among the clubs to have been linked with Özil, who is of Turkish descent, but Basaksehir president Goksel Gumusdag has offered him an alternative.

"Mesut Özil is a precious player," Gumusdag said, as quoted by Bild. "I hope one day our paths will cross at Basaksehir. If he wants to be with us as well, we would do anything to get him."

Arsenal player's wages may be problem for Turks

Özil's reported weekly salary of £350,000 per week could present a problem to Basaksehir, who boast former Gunners Gael Clichy and Emmanuel Adebayor among their ranks.

Basaksehir are currently six points clear at the top of the Super Lig and the club's directors have close links to the Turkey's ruling party and the country's controversial president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Özil was photographed with Erdogan before the World Cup – a move that was poorly received in Germany and set off a chain of events culminating in the player's retirement from international football, where he cited "racism and disrespect" over his Turkish roots.