Ozil to keep his options open

Reported Manchester City and Valencia target Mesut Ozil insists he is in no rush to sign a new contract with Werder Bremen.

The 20-year-old playmaker has attracted the attention of overseas clubs after guiding Germany to the European Championship Under-21 title this summer.

And Ozil, who is of Turkish descent, has gone on to score three goals in Werder’s opening four Bundesliga games while impressing for Germany’s senior team in Saturday’s friendly with South Africa.

On his third international appearance for Germany, Ozil set up the opener for Mario Gomez before scoring the second goal in a 2-0 win.

Ozil’s agent, Reza Fezeli, claims there has been interest from City and Valencia.

But with two years left on Ozil’s current contract at Werder, Fezeli has confirmed that his client is keeping his options open.

“Mesut’s deal runs until June 2011,” Fazeli told BILD.

“There is no need for a new one right now. We are still able to sign a new deal next summer.”

Ozil’s suitors could snap him up for a cut-price fee next summer as he would be entering the final year of his contract.

But Werder’s general manager Klaus Allofs insists the club is hopeful they can tempt Ozil to stay and agree a new deal without breaking the bank.

“There is no news available,” he told Sportinformationsdienst.

“We are still hopeful on this, but we are always acting well within our financial reaches. We do not feel any pressure.”

Former Bayern Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, meanwhile, sees Ozil as a potential successor to Bayern’s sought-after winger Franck Ribery.

“He would definetely be a great addition for Bayern,” the current Switzerland boss told the Munich-based tz newspaper.

“He is a fantastic player like (Mehmet) Scholl, (Thomas) Hassler or (Pierre) Littbarski were in previous decades. His positive is his hunger for goals.”