Report: Vidic-like defender wanted by Liverpool wants January exit, his club don’t want him to go

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Reported Liverpool target Merih Demiral won’t be allowed to move clubs in the January transfer window despite his desire to do so, according to Goal.com.

The 22-year-old, who plies his trade for Juventus, is believed to be on the Reds’ radar, as reported by Turkish outlet Fanatik earlier this week.

Liverpool don’t seem to be the only ones interested in Demiral’s signature – Tottenham, Leicester, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid have also been linked with his services.

In just three years, Demiral went from Portuguese lower-league club Alcanenense to Juventus via Sporting CP, Alanyaspor, and Sassuolo, who were paid around £16million for the player’s services in 2019.

However, the Turkey international has made just 17 appearances for Juve, with a cruciate injury ruling him out for the first half of 2020 and subsequent muscle injuries also hampering his progress.

Demiral is also believed to have been left frustrated by Andrea Pirlo’s decision not to pick him in the recent win over Udinese, with Matthijs de Ligt and Leonardo Bonucci starting in central defence and Giorgio Chiellini coming off the bench late on.

According to Goal.com, the player “faces fierce competition for places and would like to see an exit door opened”, but Juve plan to keep him on their books until at least the end of the 2020-21 campaign, when the bigger picture will be assessed once more.

TBR View:

Demiral has enjoyed a swift rise up the football pyramid but sadly things haven’t quite gone to plan for him at Juve thus far.

You can understand why the Bianconeri might not want to let him go so easily – a young player who has earned comparisons with Giorgio Chiellini and even Nemanja Vidic shouldn’t simply be offloaded at a whim.

“Demiral was a Vidic fan growing up and he is a similar stature to the former Manchester United man,” Turkish Football’s Emre Sarigul told the official Juve website when asked who he resembled the most.

“The Turkish international towers above most players, is physical, strong in the air and surprisingly technical with the ball for such a big man. He is a natural leader and cool under pressure.”

That said, it’s annoying for Liverpool, who could do with bolstering their central defence in wake of the Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez long-term injuries, but with the transfer window only just open, who knows what any further developments could arise.