• ‘You are challenged all the time, as a player as well as physically’ • ‘Mats and Benedikt have the qualities to make a mark at a big club’

Mesut Özil has said Mats Hummels and Benedikt Höwedes would benefit from a move to the Premier League. The German defenders have been linked with a move to England in the past 12 months, Hummels to Manchester United and Höwedes to Arsenal.

Hummel’s club, Borussia Dortmund, said last month they were convinced the defender would stay and sign a contract but the player has yet to comment on speculation he is looking for a new challenge after seven years at the club. Höwedes reportedly has a buyout clause of €17.5m if it is activated before mid-June.

Özil, who has been playing in the Premier League with Arsenal since the summer of 2013, told Bild am Sonntag: “I would recommend any player to come to England. The Premier League is the best league in the world. Here there are not only two teams fighting for the title but three or four and every team can beat any other team.

“The opponents never give up, even if they are 3-0 down. You are challenged all the time, as a player as well as physically. Mats and Benedikt have the qualities to make a mark at a big club here – if they want to, and that is obviously up to the individual to decide.”

Özil, who played in Germany’s 7-0 defeat of Gibraltar on Saturday, added that even the players are discussing the possibility of Jürgen Klopp coming to England. “He is a big talking point over there – in the papers but also among the players. A few of my colleagues have asked me about how Klopp works. I haven’t had him as my manager but his record speaks for itself. He is a big personality and I am impressed by how relaxed, yet professional, he can be.”