Merih Demiral is disappointed with his standing within Juventus and is pondering a move away from the club, Gazzetta dello Sport informed citing a report coming from Turkish side Fanatik. However, it is unlikely such scenario will happen in January given that the Bianconeri made a sizeable investment to acquire him.
Demiral did not feature in Sunday’s match versus Udinese, the first one where he available in a month because of a thigh injury, and Giorgio Chiellini came off the bench before him in the second half. The 22-year-old defender has featured in nine tilts so far, making seven starts, and is behind Matthijs De Ligt and Leonardo Bonucci in the pecking order. He amassed most of his appearances early in the season while the Dutch starlet was recovering from shoulder surgery.
The publication adds that the former Sassuolo man wants to play regularly in order to be ready for Euro 2021 and that the situation came out of the blue for the team given the recent injury. The Old Lady signed him from Sassuolo for €18M in 2019 and have often rejected offers coming from other top European sides in the past.
Our view
The report sounds premature as Demiral has spent the last six weeks nursing a couple of injuries and so far has been benched in just three matches where he was healthy. However, he does face a complicated path to becoming a full-time starter, so it is a something worth monitoring going forward as the front office likely envisions him as a building block for the future given their two aging center-backs.