Not even a club with as many commitments as Juventus need five top-quality central defenders.
So if Jannik Vestergaard swaps Southampton for Turin this summer, it seems inevitable that one will have to make way.
We can pretty much rule out Giorgio Chiellini or Leonardo Bonucci bidding farewell to the black and white stripes any time soon.
The veteran duo may no longer be world football’s finest central defensive partnership but, even with so many battles taking their toll on their ageing limbs, Chiellini and Bonucci remain two of the first names on Andrea Pirlo’s team-sheet; Juventus’s stone-carved pillars of strength.
Matthijs de Ligt, meanwhile, only moved to Italy two years ago in a deal worth £68 million. The former Ajax captain is not just the present but also the future of Juventus’s backline.
So that leaves just one; a talented Turkey international who, despite becoming something of a cult hero amongst the Juve fanbase, has started just 13 Serie A and Champions League games in the Pirlo era.
According to Calciomercato, Merih Demiral is no longer viewed as ‘unseallable’ at a Juventus side who need the money and fast. If the de-throned Serie A champions receive an offer in the region of £35 million, they will cash in, as Vestergaard emerges as a potential replacement (TMW).
While Demiral is still very much a player-in-progress, a youngster with a lot to learn, 28-year-old Vestergaard would arrive with plenty of experience under his belt, a 6f 6ins giant proven in England and Germany.
Gazzetta dello Sport, meanwhile, believes that Demiral and Vestergaard could even pass each other at the departure desks of the Turin-Caselle Airport.
Demiral may be on his way to Everton as part of a swap deal involving Moise Kean.
If Juventus succeed in fighting off competition from Tottenham and Roma for Vestergaard, Demiral’s departure would feel all the more inevitable.
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