Why Merih Demiral must reject Man United to join Arsenal
The Mirror understands that Arsenal and Manchester United have been paying close attention to Merih Demiral, who has been struggling for first-team football at Juventus.
In the summer window, new Juventus head coach Maurizio Sarri bolstered his centre-back options with the signings of Matthijs de Ligt from Ajax for £67.8m in addition to Demiral from Sassuolo.
When taking into consideration that Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini and Daniele Rugani are still at the club, Sarri is certainly spoilt for choice. But as the ex-Chelsea boss favours a four at the back system, Demiral has often been the odd man out.
The Turkey international must look for opportunities elsewhere when the transfer window opens in January.
Manchester United bolstered their defence by signing Harry Maguire last summer and Axel Tuanzebe also returned following a successful loan spell at Aston Villa. With Eric Bailly recovering from an injury and Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo waiting on the sidelines, the Red Devils have enough defensive options to choose from.
Arsenal, on the other hand, seem to be in disarray and are letting in goals for fun. The signing of David Luiz from Chelsea has not made an impact either. Sokratis is in his 30s and Shkodran Mustafi is too error-prone and cannot be relied on.
Since the Laurent Koscielny-Per Mertesaker partnership was broken in the 2016-17 campaign, the Gunners have gone from being a side with a modest defensive record to one of the most diabolical backlines to grace the top-end of the Premier League.
Excluding the deal to sign Shkodran Mustafi – arguably one of the worst pieces of business a Premier League club has ever done – the Gunners have hardly forked out money on defenders since 2015.
Granted, they did sign William Saliba but he won’t arrive until 2020 and will need a few seasons to begin justifying that fee.
Verdict
Merih Demiral is a talented defender and the youngster will be better off with a move away from Turin. With the return of Bonucci and signing of De Ligt, his chances would be limited.
A move to Manchester United will see the Turkish defender compete with the likes of Lindelof and Eric Bailly. The most suitable destination would be Arsenal, who are consistently leaking goals week after week.
The arrival of Demiral would not only help Arsenal challenge the top-four but also help the player progress further.
