Premier League rivals Arsenal and Manchester City are looking to raid Serie A champions Juventus for Turkish defender Merih Demiral.
Juventus have told seldom seen centre-back Merih Demiral that he is free to leave Turin in the January transfer window with Manchester City joining Arsenal in pursuit of the Turkish international, according to The Express.
It almost goes without saying that two of the Premier League’s biggest clubs are counting the minutes until confetti rains down on New Years Day.
Because both Unai Emery and Pep Guardiola have had a miserable time of late with their respective defensive problems causing major headaches at the Emirates and the Etihad. Arsenal look as nervy and vulnerable at the back now as they did at even the most testing moments of Arsene Wenger’s reign while City fans will be praying that they will soon see the last of Fernandinho or Rodri at the back.
So Demiral’s apparent availability could hardly be better timed.
Serie A champions Juventus paid £15 million to sign the combative 21-year-old from Sassuolo as recently as July but he has made just one league appearance for Maurizio Sarri’s side, even with the legendary Giorgio Chiellini out through injury.
And, after weeks of speculation, the Express believes that Demiral has now been told that he is free to find a new club. While he will no doubt be disappointed to see his Juve dream crushed after a matter of months, apparent interest from Arsenal and Man City speaks volumes about his potential.
Interestingly, Demiral’s centre-back partner for the Turkish national team, Caglar Soyuncu, has also been linked with The Gunners and City of late.
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