Reported Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal target Merih Demiral will not be sold by Serie A champions Juventus during the January transfer window, as reported by Goal.
If there is one player in the Juve camp who may be pining for a certain chain-smoking Neopolitan, it is the Turkish international centre-back.
After all, Demiral made huge strides alongside Maurizio Sarri during his debut season in Turin. But Sarri’s dismissal at the end of 2019/20, and the subsequent arrival of Andrea Pirlo, appears to have punted the £34 million-rated powerhouse all the way back to square one.
After a spell on the sidelines, it seems that Demiral has fallen behind Mathijs de Ligt, Leonardo Bonucci and the evergreen Giorgio Chiellini in Pirlo’s pecking order, with Goal reporting that he was less than impressed to be left left on the bench during Sunday’s 4-1 thrashing of Udinese.
If Demiral was feeling unsettled, this could play directly into the hands of a number of Premier League clubs eyeing defensive additions during the January window.
Fanatik suggested that Demiral is one of many centre-halves on Liverpool’s radar while Tottenham are allegedly big fans of an aggressive, tough-tackling giant of a man who idolises Manchester United legend Nemanja Vidic.
The Daily Star, meanwhile, claimed that Mikel Arteta would love to work with Demiral at Arsenal.
But Juventus rejected a host of offers over the summer and will do so again in January. According to Goal, Demiral is going nowhere this month.
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