Juventus: How does Merih Demiral fit into the picture?

Juventus could use a back three in the 2020-2021 season, but would Merih Demiral be a starter in that setup?

The Bianconeri have a lot of key decisions to make for the 2020-2021 season, as Andrea Pirlo’s squad begins to take shape. Weston McKennie and Arthur Melo won’t be the only new faces added to the Juventus roster for the upcoming season, but if there’s one position that seems settled in terms of the cast of players involved, it is center back.

Last season under Maurizio Sarri, Juventus surrendered 43 goals. That’s the most number of goals the Bianconeri have allowed in a single season since 2010-2011, which was the last year the club did not win the Scudetto.

Juve’s center backs were not the issue, aside from backup Daniele Rugani, but Sarri had trouble getting the most out of them. And Leonardo Bonucci’s untimely errors and Giorgio Chiellini’s untimely injuries did not help matters.

Merih Demiral was another center back who spent much of the season injured. Prior to his injury, Demiral look liked the club’s biggest breakout star, and the new center back signing was playing even better football than the more hyped and more expensive Matthijs de Ligt.

Would Merih Demiral start for Juventus in a back four?

Together, de Ligt and Demiral should form the backbone of this Juventus team for years to come. They are two great young center backs who are either world-class already (de Ligt, based on what he did at Ajax and in the second half of the season in Turin) or will be soon (Demiral).

According to WhoScored.com, Demiral recorded 1.3 tackles per game and allowed a meager 0.3 dribbles in his limited action of five starts before suffering a knee injury. He was among Juve’s leaders in statistics measuring production per 90 minutes, showing the kind of importance he can have to this defense.

If Juve head into 2020-2021 with a four-man defense, Demiral probably won’t start. Bonucci and de Ligt look like the most logical starters on a week-to-week basis, as they mesh well together. The one veteran, one youngster approach could serve the Bianconeri well.

But Demiral would still get playing time. After all, the backups to Bonucci and de Ligt are Demiral and Chiellini, who are excellent themselves and also follow a one veteran, one youngster format. It’s so hard to separate these four center backs that some could even convincingly argue a Demiral and Chiellini partnership would be even better.

Merih Demiral could easily start in a three-man defense

Now if Andrea Pirlo enforces a back three for the Bianconeri next season, Demiral’s chances go up. And they go up by a lot.

Because imagine Demiral and de Ligt flanking Bonucc in the middle. That could be an ideal back three, with one veteran like Bonucci or Chiellini rotating for optimal freshness and the two young stars of the future getting valuable minutes as part of a world-class back three.

Demiral’s path to starting in 2020-2021 is very much wide open, even if he isn’t as big of a name as Bonucci, Chiellini, or de Ligt. Because in terms of statistical output, Demiral was on par with those guys, earning the highest WhoScored rating of any Juventus defender. While that stat is not foolproof by any means, it’s a sign that Demiral is more than good enough to start for Juve; he just needs the opportunity to do so.