Everton want to sign Merih Demiral this summer – report
Everton are among the interested sides that want to sign Atalanta defender Merih Demiral this summer, according to journalist Yakup Cinar.
Demiral is currently on loan at Atalanta from Juventus, with an option to turn the deal permanent for €28m this summer. However much like with Cristian Romero, they could opt to trigger that option then sell on for a profit.
According to Cinar, who works for Fanatik and was interviewed by TuttoJuve.com, interest in the defender is high and Everton are one of four clubs with a known interest.
“The two Madrid teams, Real and Atletico, are very interested,” he said. “I can say that Diego Simeone would like to see him in his team.
“In addition to these two teams, Everton and Chelsea would also be interested in a player like Merih.”
Huge upgrade
Demiral would be an absolutely huge upgrade on the current central defensive options at the club, and that’s an understatement.
Current options of Mason Holgate, Michael Keane, Ben Godfrey and Yerry Mina simply aren’t good enough to be in the Premier League going forward and big improvements are needed.
If Frank Lampard can keep the Toffees in the Premier League he will need to be backed in the transfer market to strengthen the squad, and Demiral would be a great acquisition. He was described as ‘outstanding‘ last year for his performances in Serie A.
It would likely be an expensive deal to do, and they would have to do something special to get him ahead of Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Chelsea, but if a deal can be done they should be all over it.
First things first though they need to secure Premier League survival, and that means getting the best out of their current squad before they think about bolstering it.
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