Juventus Tracking Fiorentina Man as Cheap Addition to the Defense

Nikola Milenkovic is likely to leave Fiorentina in the upcoming transfer market window and Juventus are on the lookout. The contract of the Serbian defender expires in 2022, and the Viola would rather sell him for a low price than lose him for nothing. The Bianconeri have shown some considerable interest in recent days and would ramp it up if they decided to sell Merih Demiral, La Gazzetta dello Sport reports.

Demiral has not established himself as a regular starter in Turin, given the fierce competition and some injury issues. However, he still has a lot of suitors, especially in the Premier League. He was signed from Sassuolo for €18M, and Juventus would easily make a good profit on him. On the other hand, €10/15M could be enough to acquire Milenkovic, Tuttomercatoweb indicates.

Fiorentina CEO Joe Barone told Tuttomercatoweb: “He is an important player for Fiorentina, and he had some big-time performances in the middle of the defense. He has a year left on his contract; we hope he will extend it and stay with us. We will evaluate the offers along with him and see what he prefers to do.”

Milenkovic was previously linked to Inter and some English clubs, primarily Tottenham. New coach Gennaro Gattuso has not managed to talk him into signing a new contract. He would be reportedly let go if a big team bids for him this summer, but he could re-up after the window if that did not happen. Moreover, Fiorentina are keen on Daniele Rugani, who will head back to Juventus following the loan spell at Cagliari.