Everton transfer target Merih Demiral wants to leave Juventus this summer, as reported by Calciomercato.
What's the latest transfer news on Demiral?
The 23-year-old has spent the last two years at the Italian giants but he is now ready to leave Turin due to being some way down the pecking order at the club. He was limited to just 15 Serie A appearances in 2020/21 as he battled with Giorgio Chiellini, Matthijs de Ligt and Leonardo Bonucci for a starting berth.
Everton are reportedly showing the most interest in the centre-back, who has requested meetings with Juventus over the past week to discuss his future.
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Is there a potential sticking point to prevent a deal being done?
It seems that Demiral's price-tag could be a potential stumbling block for Everton in their bid to land the 6 foot 3 defender.
Juventus are believed to want €40m (£34.4m) to sell him this summer. However, the report does claim that this fee may be negotiable.
It appears likely that the Toffees will want Juventus to lower their asking price significantly. The Premier League outfit have previously spent more money on just two players in their history when compared with Demiral's current price-tag, and neither of those squad members were defenders.
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What happened to Demiral at Euro 2020?
Demiral had a torrid time at Euro 2020 as Turkey lost all three of their games to crash out of the tournament in the group stages. He also kickstarted a remarkable trend at this summer's championships.
On the opening night, Demiral put the ball into his own net to hand Italy the lead at the Stadio Olimpico. It was the first own goal of the tournament, but it certainly wasn't the last.
As things stand, there have been nine own goals at Euro 2020, which is the same number as the previous 15 Euros combined.
Should Everton pay such a hefty fee for Demiral?
Based on his performances at the Euros, they should think twice about going after Demiral, as Turkey shipped eight goals in their three games.
However, that is a small sample size to base an opinion of a player on, so Everton must look at the bigger picture. For someone who is still young, Demiral has plenty of experience at the highest level, having spent two years at Juventus and received 24 caps for his country already.
His record for Juventus is also very impressive, as he has only been on the losing side once in his 21 top-flight appearances for the club.
Everton conceded 48 goals in the Premier League in 2020/21 - only two sides in the top half let in more. If they have serious ambitions of making a push for Europe next year, they need to tighten up at the back, and Demiral could help them achieve this by using the experience that he has built up at Juventus and at international level in recent years.