Sead Kolasinac’s transfer to Fenerbahce is threatening to fall apart after Arsenal refused to meet his demands and cancel his contract.

Turkish journalist Ahmed Selim (via Arsenal442) reports that after long talks, Sead Kolasinac’s transfer to Fenerbahce is now on the verge of failure, after Arsenal refused to agree to cancel his contract. Instead, the Gunners are asking for a transfer fee from Fenerbahce.

Fenerbahce are looking at other options unless Kolasinac can come to some sort of agreement with his current club.

This follows a report from Yagiz Sabuncuoglu on Friday claiming that in his last meeting with Arsenal, Kolasinac requested his full salary to terminate his deal. He wrote that Fenerbahce were waiting to see how things developed.

It’s not hard to see why Kolasinac is asking for his full salary, as he’s seen a similar deal work for Mesut Özil earlier this year. But Kolasinac’s situation is different, because Arsenal are under no pressure to get rid of him.

The club have a squad space for Kolasinac if he stays. He isn’t causing a particularly large distraction for the team, with the media mostly just ignoring him, contrary to how it was with Özil. He was perfectly serviceable in his recent appearance against West Brom.

The only possible benefit Arsenal have from moving Kolasinac on is financial. If they’re reducing their wage bill or bringing in a transfer fee, then it may well be worth letting him leave.

But if he wants his full salary and a free transfer, it isn’t worth it, and it’s a bit silly to expect Arsenal to agree to that. Better to have him around as a backup than pay his wages to be unavailable.