Gabriele Marcotti believes Manchester United would have to sell Henrik Mkhitaryan if they wanted to sign Mesut Ozil.

Rumours of Ozil joining United either in January or the summer have quietened of late, but while he remains out of contract in six months, there will always be a chance he could move.

However, if United are still interested in the German, they would have to sell somebody first. That’s the view of Gabriele Marcotti, who believes it could be Henrikh Mkhitaryan who ends up being sacrificed.

“Mesut Ozil, a slightly different situation (to Sanchez),” he said, as reported by the Daily Star. “The club say that, or Wenger anyway has said that he is pretty confident that Ozil’s going to extend his deal.

“But of course he’s been saying that for, what, the last 18 months now. He’s been linked again to Manchester United. I think United would have to shift somebody, most likely Mkhitaryan, to make that happen realistically.”

Mhkitaryan doesn’t have the best relationship with Jose Mourinho and hasn’t played well this season. United’s other option in midfield is Juan Mata, but he’s also not a regular and is out of contract in the summer, so it wouldn’t be at all surprising if they made room for Ozil’s arrival.

From an Arsenal perspective, there’s hope that the 29-year-old could extend his contract at the club. Ozil has been in excellent form lately, and received plaudits for his performance against Chelsea last week.

With strong rumours suggesting Alexis Sanchez will be leaving soon, keeping Ozil will become even more important.