Arsenal to miss out on bargain £27m Nabil Fekir transfer… because they cannot sell Mesut Ozil

ARSENAL will reportedly miss out on the signing of Lyon playmaker Nabil Fekir because they can’t offload Mesut Ozil.

The Gunners were claimed to have made contact with the 25-year-old earlier this month who is available for a cut-price fee of just £27million.

But according to L’Equipe, the North London side cannot afford the fee set by the Ligue 1 side while they still have the ex-Real Madrid midfielder on their books.

Turkish outfit Fenerbahce have ruled out signing Ozil as his £350,000-a-week contract is too expensive for them.

No clubs are yet to turn their interest in Ozil into a formal offer, with Arsenal looking increasingly likely of keeping their German talisman.

Le Parisien state that Spanish side Real Betis are closing in on the signing of the French World Cup winner.

But they are believed to face competition from their La Liga rivals Sevilla and Valencia.

Fekir almost joined Liverpool last year for £57m, but the Reds opted against signing him following a hitch in his medical.

Lyon are keen to part ways with their academy graduate after he failed to commit his long-term future to the club.

He is tied down at the club until next summer, but Lyon are desperate to avoid losing him on a free transfer.

Fekir’s team-mate Memphis Depay has been linked with a return to the Premier League following his miserable spell at Manchester United, with Liverpool reportedly interested.