According to Fanatik (h/t Leicestershire Live), Manchester United are preparing a massive £50million offer for Juventus defender Merih Demiral.
A report earlier this month had claimed that the 22-year-old centre-back along with teammate Douglas Costa could move to Old Trafford as part of a double deal. However, no deal materialised as the latter was not keen on moving to London.
Demiral, who was a transfer target for United’s rivals Leicester City back in January, has now emerged as a top priority in their wishlist ahead of the next season. The young Turk has had a breakthrough campaign at Juventus despite arriving at the Serie A side just last summer from rivals Sassuolo for a sum of around £16million.
Demiral has made just five league appearances this term. However, he caught the eye of several clubs in Europe after breaking into the starting XI, dislodging summer signing Matthijs de Ligt and making four consecutive starts.
But luck did not favour the youngster as he was carried away in his fourth game against AS Roma after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Demiral has so far made seven appearances across all competitions for Juventus this season and would have made more had it not been for his season-ending injury.
He just lost one match out of his seven appearances for the Italian giants this term, proving his worth in Maurizio Sarri’s side. Having made his debut for Turkey in November 2018, Demiral is a regular feature in the national side and has appeared 12 times for them until now.
Demiral a good future investment for Manchester United
With Demiral impressing a host of clubs in England in such a short span of time, Manchester United have now once again reignited their interest in the young centre-back. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have improved their defence significantly this season after roping in England centre-back Harry Maguire last summer.
He has formed a formidable centre-back partnership with Victor Lindelof in the heart of United’s defence. This has seen them concede just 30 goals from 29 league matches. However, Lindelof has a tendency to be error-prone and is at times inconsistent. This means United need a consistent centre-back partner at the back alongside Maguire.