Sokratis Papastathopoulos’ agent has held positive meetings with Fenerbahce ahead of a potential free transfer in January.

According to Turkish outlet Fanatik (via Ajansspor), Fenerbahce want to sign a defender in January, and Sokratis Papastathopoulos on a free transfer is one of their primary targets.

The club have already held positive initial meetings with the player’s agent, and they plan to open negotiations with Arsenal soon.

As we know, Sokratis was excluded from Arsenal’s first-team squad lists for the Premier League and the Europa League over the last few months. He could rejoin the lists in January, but only if Arsenal make space by removing someone else.

The more likely option is that he finds a new club, particularly given the number of centre-back options Arsenal have. The club are reportedly willing to let Sokratis leave for free if he gets an offer, so negotiations shouldn’t be too difficult.

Previous reports suggested there was interest in the defender from Italy, Greece, and France, but perhaps Turkey is a more likely destination after all these months without regular senior football.

Sokratis has been playing with the Arsenal youth teams over the last month or so, making a couple of appearances to keep himself sharp for a January move.