Merih Demiral could reportedly be heading to the Premier League and Leicester City after just five months at Serie A champions Juventus.
Leicester City have a £25.5 million bid ready and waiting for Juventus star Merih Demiral, according to Sport.
With 11 goals conceded in 17 games, Brendan Rodgers’s Foxes have the most miserly defence in the entire Premier League. But, if reports are to be believed, that is not going to stop Leicester from breaking the bank for another highly-rated centre-back with Wes Morgan well past his best and Filip Benkovic out of favour.
The Sun (16 December, page 63) reports that the Midland giants are planning a January offer for Burnley’s £40 million-rated English international James Tarkowski. Now, two days later, Demiral has been thrust into the picture too.
A shaven-headed, old-school centre-back who simply loves defending, Sport claims that Leicester are hopeful that a bid of £25.5 million will be enough to convince Juve to cash in on a player who grew up idolising Nemanja Vidic.
Quick, combative and with a pass completion rate of 90 per cent, Demiral could form a fearsome partnership with his fellow Turkish international Caglar Soyuncu for years to come at the King Power Stadium.
But with the former Alanyaspor youngster winning over Maurizio Sarri, and arguably outshining fellow newcomer Matthijs de Ligt in Turin, it would be a major shock if Juventus were willing to cash in on Demiral after just five months in black and white.
“Merih was aggressive, fast and strong. He built a physical superiority and reassured the defence. I was very pleased that the defence performed well,” former Chelsea coach Sarri told Time24 after Demiral’s eye-catching performance against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League last week.
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