Why Leicester should return for Merih Demiral in the future
Calciomercato (h/t Leicestershire Live) have revealed that a huge offer from Leicester for Merih Demiral was turned down in the summer. It is said that Juventus manager Andrea Pirlo was particularly keen on keeping the player at the club. The Foxes ended up signing Wesley Fofana in the summer.
Profile
Merih Demiral rose through the youth ranks of Fenerbahce and had a brief stint at Portuguese lower-division outfit Alcanenense before making his professional debut for Sporting Lisbon’s reserve side in the second-tier.
The centre-back was transferred to Turkish top-flight club Alanyaspor in the summer of 2018 and he subsequently joined Italian outfit Sassuolo in January 2019, initially on loan with an obligation to buy.
Demiral started 14 games for Sassuolo during the second half of the 2018-19 campaign, with his hugely impressive displays paving the way for a move to Juventus last summer. The Turk, though, found himself limited to a bit-part role in Turin last term due to stiff competition for places, starting just 5 Serie A games.
The 22-year-old represented Turkey across various age-groups between U-17 and U-21 before making his full international debut in 2018 and has since accumulated 18 senior caps for his nation.
Leicester should still return for Demiral in the future
The club signed Wesley Fofana for a huge amount and the youngster has settled in well at the club since making his debut. Alongside Soyuncu and Evans, Fofana has produced some fine displays for the club in the short time he has been there.
While a centre-back may not look like a priority now, they should remember that Wes Morgan is 36 and Jonny Evans is 32. In a season’s time, they might just have to recruit another central defender and Demiral should be an option they can revisit.
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The tough-tackling defender has shown that he can cut it at the highest level in the limited chances he has got at Juventus. At just 22, he would be a promising signing for Leicester even if it is next season. If they manage to get him, they will have one the best units of central defenders in Europe with Soyuncu and Fofana to go with him.
