Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund have entered the race to sign Juventus defender Merih Demiral this summer.
Despite returning for pre-season following Turkey’s disastrous Euro 2020 campaign last week and appearing in Juve’s maiden fixture of the season against Cesena on Saturday, Demiral is supposedly in favour of a Turin exit in search of regular first-team football elsewhere.
🦾 @Merihdemiral 🦾 pic.twitter.com/CkZnrLvpEZ
— JuventusFC 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@juventusfcen) July 25, 2021
Allegri’s faith in veterans Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci means that the talented 23-year-old will start the 2021/22 campaign fourth in the centre-back depth chart, behind Matthijs de Ligt as well.
The Bianconeri are open to selling Demiral this summer as they look to wrap up a deal for Sassuolo midfielder Manuel Locatelli. The financial strains brought about by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic have prevented Juve from matching Sassuolo’s €40m asking price for the Italian international.
Demiral’s sale will certainly loosen the purse strings somewhat.
Dortmund’s interest
With it seemingly being in the interests of both Demiral and Juve (financially) for the defender to depart in the summer transfer window, plenty of teams across Europe have been put on red alert.
The latest to enter the race is Borussia Dortmund, who are in the market for a centre-back this summer. Fabrizio Romano reports that BVB hold an interest in the player and are preparing a bid.
Juventus are demanding €35m for Demiral’s services after signing him for €18m from Sassuolo in 2019.
The race
Dortmund are just one of several clubs looking to bolster at centre-half via the aggressive, proactive but ultimately very talented Demiral.
Romano adds that Atalanta remain an option for the Turkish international, but that deal is dependent on the future of Cristian Romero, who looks poised to move to Tottenham. The stylistically similar Demiral would be the ideal replacement.
Everton and Spurs have also been linked with the 23-year-old, but nothing of any substance regarding a move to the Premier League has materialised as of yet.