Juventus offered chance to sign Mesut Ozil

Serie A champions Juventus have rejected Arsenal's offer to buy German playmaker Mesut Ozil in the January window.

Ozil joined Arsenal in 2013 as the club's record signing. Yet, after seven seasons as one of the side's regular starters, he has seen his playing time completely taken away by manager Mikel Arteta. Ozil last played for Arsenal in March.

To compound Ozil's position at the club, the 32-year-old attacking midfielder was left out of Arsenal's Premier League and Europe League squads at the start of the season. Arteta has dismissed the idea of terminating Ozil's contract - which expires in June 2021 - though is unsure whether his number ten will return to the first team squad this January.

Those uncertainties have not been expelled by Juventus rebuffing the chance to sign Ozil in the current transfer window according to CBS Sports. The reining Italian champions have recently been linked with a move for Ozil after it was rumoured that the former Germany international's representatives contacted Juventus.

However, Fabrizio Romano reports that Andrea Pirlo's side were happy to reject the allure of Ozil because of the faith they have in their own playmaker Dejan Kulusevski - a 20-year-old Sweden international who was bought for £31.5m 12 months ago.

Turkish side Fenerbahce have also been touted as a likely destination for Ozil, with the Istanbul-based outfit supposedly '90% confident' of finalising a deal for their man. If no move for the former Real Madrid player does arise, Arsenal's lucratively paid midfielder may become a source of division within the squad should he be welcomed back into the fold.

Arteta has stressed that departures are the priority for Arsenal and their bloated squad in the current window. Sead Kolasinac has already left for Schalke and William Saliba has also embarked upon a loan move in search of more first team minutes.