Arsenal star Mesut Ozil is ready to join Istanbul Basaksehir this summer – the favoured club of his friend and Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The former German international midfielder has embraced his Turkish heritage in recent years after retiring from international football and recently he was pictured wearing a Turkish symbol before Arsenal’s Europa League clash with Valencia.

Ozil has insisted in public he is more than to remain in at Arsenal, but the Gunners are desperate to shed his huge £350,000-a-week wages – which make him one of the highest paid players in the Premier League.

Now Ozil is ready to move to Basaksehir, but they believe a deal – even with Erdogan’s help – could only push through Uefa’s financial scrutiny with Champions League, which they have secured, as they are finishing second to Galatasaray.

Erdogan sees the signing of Ozil as a huge coup for the country, let alone Turkish football and there is only one club he wants him to join, and this is his beloved Basaksehir – who despite being one of Istanbul’s smaller clubs have a recent history of making some big deals with the likes of Arda Turan, Robinho and former Arsenal stars Emmanuel Adebayor and Gael Clichy all playing for the club.

Bookmakers believe a move to Turkey is one of the most likely scenarios – he is 4/1 with BetVIctor to join any Turkish club.