Merih Demiral of Juventus FC in action during the Serie A football match between Juventus FC and Udinese Calcio. Juventus FC won 3-1 over Udinese Calcio.
Leicester have fallen short with their £25.5m bid for Juventus centre-back Merih Demiral, claims Sky Sports.
Brendan Rodgers wants to sign a new centre-back this month after failing to replace Harry Maguire in the summer.
Leicester banked £80m for the England international and are now prepared to re-invest part of that in order to find his successor.
Caglar Soyuncu has stepped up and filled the void left by Maguire with aplomb and now Rodgers wants to partner the 23-year-old with his Turkey international team-mate.
Demiral only joined Juventus in the summer but has struggled to get a look in under new manager Maurizio Sarri.
The 21-year-old was a standout performer for Sassuolo last season and also played a major part in Turkey’s qualification for Euro 2020.
Juventus are in no rush to cash in on the highly rated centre-back and have reportedly also turned down a £34m bid from Borussia Dortmund this month.
Manchester United and Arsenal have also been credited with an interest in Demiral and it is thought a bid in excess of £40m would be required to prise him from Juventus.
Demiral has been limited to just three league starts and 90 minutes in the Champions League this season. He is winning more aerial duels per game (5.3) than any other Juventus player in Serie A this term.
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