Arsenal tracking £34m-rated Serie A star ahead of possible January move: report

Arsenal are reportedly one of the clubs monitoring the situation of Merih Demiral ahead of a potential approach for his signature at the turn of the year.

The Turkey international made the permanent move to Juventus from Sassuolo last summer but he has since struggled for gametime and has made just one appearance in all competitions.

As a result, he is said to be considering his future with the Bianconeri ahead of the New Year and Calciomercato reports that the Gunners and Atletico Madrid are tracking the proceedings.

Furthermore, it is stated that the Bianconeri would demand around £34m for the Turkey international and they are unlikely to accept a lesser price for the central defender.

The Gunners have continued to possess a genuine weakness in the central defensive department this season and they have already conceded 17 goals from 12 league games with just two clean sheets.

This constitutes the joint-worst defensive record among the Premier League’s top nine and there surely needs to be an improvement at the back in order to hold any chance of making the top four.

With Demiral, the Gunners would be getting a quality defender, who has a strong aerial prowess due to his height while he is equally effective with his tackling and likes to make clearances.

Still, it remains unclear whether the club would be willing to spend big in mid-season with the various central defensive options at hand, and a loan deal may probably be a more suitable choice.

Demiral has continued to get selected for Turkey despite his lack of gametime with the Bianconeri. He played through the entire 90 minutes of his country’s 0-0 draw against Iceland in a Euro 2020 qualifier on Thursday.