Juventus: Merih Demiral should replace Leonardo Bonucci in the lineup

Juventus need to consider making a change at the center back position in 2021.

There is no doubt that Matthijs de Ligt is one of the best center backs in European football, and Juventus fans recognize de Ligt as an important starter. There are a few quality defenders in Turin, but nobody has the talent de Ligt possesses. And he already looks like he can be a future leader on the level of Giorgio Chiellini.

There is another great young center back in Turin, though, and his name is Merih Demiral. Prior to an injury last season, Demiral was actually playing at a higher level than de Ligt. I would not claim to believe Demiral is better than de Ligt, but that statement is meant to highlight how impressive Demiral is.

Demiral started the season well amidst injuries at center back, including a shoulder injury to de Ligt, but Juventini have not seen him play a single match in Serie A since November. It’s not a stretch to claim that Demiral has been one of Juve’s two best center backs this season, but whereas surprise standout Danilo continues to get minutes in the first team due to his versatility, Demiral has been phased out entirely.

Based on what we have seen in the 2020-2021 season, there’s no real justification for Leonardo Bonucci starting over Demiral. His mistakes against Fiorentina were clear for the world to see, and Bonucci did not hold himself to the standard expected at Juventus. I do not care how experienced he is, what he has accomplished in the past in Serie A, or how much Pep Guardiola lauds his ball-playing abilities. Those mistakes are unacceptable at a club like Juventus, and they will continue to cost this team valuable points in the title race.

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Bonucci’s woeful errors are nothing new. We have seen him make inexcusable mistakes time after time this year. A slump or a one-off error is fine; it happens to every defender. For example, de Ligt has made some errors in 2020. But Bonucci? It’s seemingly an every-week occurrence for the 33-year-old center back.

Now, it is important to be fair here. Bonucci is an above-average Serie A center back who has plenty of strengths. He does not hurt the team. The problem, however, is that he isn’t playing as well as Demiral. Since Demiral is 22 and outplaying someone 11 years older, why won’t Andrea Pirlo and Juventus show faith in a man who can be a foundational piece of this squad next to de Ligt for years to come?

Juventus are criticized incessantly by fans across Europe for being a club that relies too much on older players and does not give youth a chance. Under Pirlo, Juve are rightfully changing this narrative by giving opportunities to players like Arthur Melo, Federico Chiesa, Dejan Kulusevski, and Weston McKennie. All four of those players were brought in before the 2020-2021 season.

So why don’t Juve take the same approach with Demiral? The Turkish international has outplayed all four of those aforementioned names this season. Honestly, Cristiano Ronaldo, Juan Cuadrado, and Alvaro Morata are the only three players I would definitively say have been more impressive than the astute young center back this season.

It’s time to give Demiral the keys to the starting job. He is a safer option than Bonucci and a better overall defender, even if he doesn’t give Juventus the same passing range out of the back. The defending and composure should be more important to the Bianconeri, who are basically beating themselves this season with their sloppy errors at the back.