After what was a very busy summer of transfer activity at the Emirates, Arsenal's technical director is plotting further squad overhauls in January.
One player that could be on the chopping board is Mohamed Elneny, who has struggled for game time under Mikel Arteta this season.
The Egyptian has been involved in just four games since August, with two of those appearances coming in the Carabao Cup.
After dropping down the midfield pecking order following the good form of Thomas Partey and summer singing Albert Sambi Lokonga, Elneny's days in North London now look to be numbered.
Advert
The 29-year-old is also expected to line up for Egypt in January's African Cup of Nations, giving Arteta even less of a reason to keep the player as cover or back-up.
However, by the time of the tournament, Elneny may have already moved on, with interest in the player reportedly coming from Turkey.
According to FotoMac, technical director Edu has "reached an agreement" with Elneny's agent for him to effectively leave on a free transfer when the January window opens.
In addition, they state that all signs point to Turkey, with Istanbul giants Galatasaray thought to be especially keen on landing the defensive midfielder.
Advert
As per the report, Arsenal and Arteta are willing to let him join the club for next to nothing, despite costing the Gunners around £11m when they signed from Basel back in 2016.
Several other reports have claimed that a deal with Galatasaray is already in place, although that currently remains to be seen.
The Egyptian international, who has been capped 82 times by his country, will leave Arsenal in the summer even if a January deal cannot be reached, as his current contract expires in July.
The club's failure to offer Elneny improved terms speaks to his ostracisation in the squad, which will surely invite several advances from clubs around Europe once the January window opens.
Advert
Overall, the man from Mahalla has played 134 times for the Premier League side, scoring five goals across as many seasons.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Galatasaray, Premier League, Arsenal, Mikel Arteta