Elneny's proposed move to Besiktas fails to materialize

Besiktas have found the wage demands of Elneny too steep for them and have broken off talks for the Arsenal player.

Arsenal have found themselves in a spot where they have to shift a few players and reinforce in other areas. With the summer transfer window shut in England, Turkey provided the only outlet for moving on players. The Turkish window closes on Wednesday.

Besiktas break off talks with Elneny

Arsenald the season on a dour note, losing their first three Premier League matches, putting Mikel Arteta's job hanging in the balance. It is no surprise that the Gunners have been linked with another manager in Antonio Conte over recent weeks. With several players not pulling their weight, the Spaniard had looked unsuccessfully to move a few players off the wage bill at the Emirates.

Mohamed Elneny has featured twice for the Gunners this season. He is one of the players that Arteta wants to move on. Even with the summer transfer window closed, Besiktas offered hope as the Turkish window remained open.

The move is unlikely to happen as talks have been truncated, with the Egyptian's demands beyond Besiktas reach.

According to TalkSPORT, Elneny had the green light from Arsenal to depart the club, but it seems he will remain in London till January at the very least.

Limited game time for Elneny

Elneny has not been a consistent feature at Arsenal since he joined in 2016 from FC Basel. In September 2019, he went on loan to Besiktas with Arsenal. Elneny returned to Arsenal in August 2020.

The Egyptian international has found game time hard to come by at the Emirates, with the 2020/21 season proving to be the most productive for him. He played his most matches for Arsenal, appearing 41 times in all competitions and scoring three goals.

The highlight of his Arsenal campaign came in November 2020, where he partnered with Thomas Partey to neutralize the potency of Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba to earn Arsenal their first win at Old Trafford since 2006.

Competition pushing Elneny out the door

Over the past two seasons, Arsenal have tried to boost their midfield. Thomas Partey arrived from Atlético Madrid in 2020 and Albert Lokonga this season.

It was already tough displacing Granit Xhaka at the base of the midfield and made harder by the new additions. With the arrival of Martin Ødegaard and the elevation of Emile Smith Rowe, chances will be more limited for Elneny, meaning a move away from London is necessary.

His negotiations with Besiktas have not gone according to the script. Galatasaray pulled out of a deal over his reported wage demands of £2.15 million a year. A move could still happen if the Egyptian midfielder lowers his wage demands. If that move does happen, we'll be sure to report it here on Betpack alongside any other latest transfer news as usual.