Arsenal's out-of-favour German midfielder Mesut Ozil is in advanced talks to join Istanbul club Fenerbahce, Turkish media reported on Wednesday.
Ozil is expected to sign a three-and-a-half year deal with the 19-time Turkish champions, the privately-owned DHA news agency reported.
The reports came after the 32-year-old, a World Cup winner with Germany in 2014, fanned speculation by tweeting a photograph of himself in Istanbul with the words: "This city ... #throwback #Istanbul."
Sports daily Fanatik reported that Fenerbahce chairman Ali Koc and team director Emre Belozoglu flew to London to persuade the player, who is of Turkish origin, to make the move. Fenerbahce have yet to comment on the reports.
MLS side DC United are also thought to have been keen on the midfielder who has been capped 93 times by Germany, scoring 23 goals.
Ozil moved to Arsenal from Real Madrid in 2013 and is the highest paid player in the Premier League club's history on a reported £350,000 ($480,000) a week, but was not named in the Gunners' squads for either the Premier League or Europa League. He has not played a single game this season.
Manager Mikel Arteta is on the record stating his desire to trim his bloated squad this month, having already sent defender Sead Kolasinac out on loan to Bundesliga side Schalke for the remainder of the season.
Ozil has expressed frustration over his treatment at Arsenal and has had a turbulent time at the north London club.
"This is a difficult message to write to the Arsenal fans that I've played for over the past few years," Ozil wrote on social media in October.
"I'm really deeply disappointed by the fact that I have not been registered for the Premier League season for the time being.
"Upon signing my new contract in 2018, I pledged my loyalty and allegiance to the club that I love, Arsenal, and it saddens me that this has not been reciprocated."
He stirred controversy in 2019 when he criticised China's treatment of the Uighur Muslim population in Xinjiang in a social media post, with Arsenal distancing themselves from his comments.
But he will apparently be earning far less at Fenerbahce as DHA and Fanatik said the proposed deal was worth €5 million ($6.1m) a year.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was Ozil's best man at his 2019 wedding in Turkey.
Fenerbahce, one of Istanbul's three big clubs, are currently fifth in the Super Lig, two points behind table-toppers Gaziantep but with a game in hand.
