Juventus have reportedly rejected offers from both Leicester City and Borussia Dortmund for defender Merih Demiral, with the latter said to have bid £34m.
The 21-year-old joined from Sassuolo this past summer, but he has found it difficult to break into the starting line-up in Turin, making just five appearances across all competitions so far this season.
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Nevertheless, he has continued to impress, particularly for Turkey in their EURO 2020 qualifying campaign, and so it appears as though there is plenty of interest in him.
According to Sky Sports though, via their colleagues in Italy initially, Leicester have seen a £25.5m bid rejected for the Turkish international, while Dortmund are said to have had a £34m offer snubbed by the reigning Serie A champions.
With Leonardo Bonucci, Matthijs de Ligt, Giorgio Chiellini and Daniele Rugani all available for coach Maurizio Sarri in defence, Demiral’s situation and lack of playing time doesn’t seem likely to change any time soon.
With that in mind, it arguably makes sense for Juventus to consider an exit to then have an opportunity to reinvest that money into the squad for a reinforcement that Sarri may feel he needs.
However, based on the report above, it seems as though they’re keen to keep hold of Demiral for the foreseeable future, but time will tell if either Leicester or Dortmund return with an improved bid to test their resolve.
The Foxes are currently second in the Premier League table as they continue to enjoy an excellent season under Brendan Rodgers, while they boast the second best defensive record in the league.
In turn, perhaps they aren’t desperate for defensive reinforcements this month, and if Juventus aren’t willing to consider an exit for Demiral, they may well shift their focus elsewhere.