Borussia Dortmund have reportedly placed a watchful eye on the Juventus third-choice centre-back Merih Demiral. According to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, the Serie A giants are ready to sell the Turkish star for around €35million.
Atalanta considered Demiral as Christian Romero’s long-term successor at Bergamo after it became clear the Argentine is on his way to joining Tottenham Hotspur. However, La Dea will now have to outfox stiff competition from Dortmund, who are hunting down a new defender to provide cover to Manuel Akanji and Mats Hummels.
Die Borussen are known for spotting value buys in the market and then going on to make substantial profits from selling those players at the peak of their market value. At 23 and with plenty of room for development, Demiral matches the profile the Germans have been recruiting over the past few years.
The Turkey international arrived at the Allianz Arena from Sassuolo in 2019 for a reported fee of €18m, penning a five-year contract. But a string of injury setbacks and the presence of Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini have prevented Demiral from claiming regular first-team football in Turin.
Two years on, the Turk could be on the verge of reuniting with his international colleague Emre Can, who left Juventus for Dortmund in January 2020. Demiral failed to impress at Euro 2020, scoring an unfortunate own goal in their tournament curtain-raiser against Italy.
Juventus are not overly excited about keeping hold of the defender either, with Massimiliano Allegri looking to strengthen the backline with some new faces. Additionally, Bonucci and Chiellini are likely to remain Juve’s defensive leaders next season, which douses any embers of optimism in Demiral’s camp.