Besiktas are trying to get out of paying Arsenal any sell-on fee for former Gunner Oğuzhan Özyakup by letting his current contract expire before they sign him to a new one according to a report.

The slightly convoluted plan is reported by goalbien.com, who claim that Besiktas have agreed a new five-year deal with Özyakup, but aren’t announcing it. The reason for keeping it quiet is apparently so they can expire his current contract (which runs out in 2018), sign him on a new deal and then sell, if they want.

Selling at that point would allow them to take 100% of the revenue from the sale, rather than giving 30% to Arsenal, they believe. Besiktas previously tried to get Arsenal to remove the clause this summer, offering Arsenal £913,000 up front to get rid of it.

Arsenal didn’t agree, since Özyakup is reportedly worth around £20m, and the Gunners would be much better off just collecting 30% of that.

If signing a new deal could get rid of a sell-on fee then I don’t see why every club wouldn’t use this method, although perhaps actually letting the contract expire does invalidate all previous clauses.

If that’s the case, then Besiktas are free to do so, but they’d be taking the risk that Özyakup signs on with another club for free instead.

Maybe Arsenal could make him an offer and then sell him on themselves…