A big update has emerged on Newcastle United's pursuit of Merih Demiral in the summer transfer window...
What's the talk?
Turkish journalist Osman Cengiz has claimed that the Magpies have tabled a £21m (€25m) offer for the centre-back as PIF aim to strike a deal for the Old Lady gem.
He Tweeted: "Merih Demiral #PremierLeague, whose contract continues with #Juventus and who completed last season on loan in #Atalanta, from their team, Newcastle United, has applied. #Newcastle sacrificed 25 million euros for Turkish defender Merih Demiral!"
Huge Fabian Schar upgrade
By landing the Juventus defender, the club would be bringing in a player who would be a huge upgrade on Schar at the back.
In the Nations League, the Swiss enforcer has averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.1 for his country. He has also averaged a score of roughly 6.77 across the last two Premier League campaigns combined, which shows that he has been a solid - if not outstanding - performer for the club.
Demiral, meanwhile, has averaged a rating of 7.5 in the Nations League for Turkey, showing that he has caught the eye with his displays at international level whilst Schar has struggled in this break.
Domestically, the 24-year-old has averaged a rating of 6.91 or higher in each of his four seasons in the Serie A, playing for Sassuolo, Juventus and Atalanta.
Turkish-football.com founder Emre Sarigul previously lauded the machine, saying: "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."
He has also been described as an "absolute beast" by talent scout Jacek Kulig and Sarigul's comments and the defender's statistics in the Italian top-flight back that up.
In the 2021/22 campaign, Demiral won an outstanding 69% of his aerial battles and has never won less than 67% over the course of a season - winning 80% in 2019/20. This shows that he is a physically dominant centre-back who is able to get the better of his opponent in the air the majority of the time.
Schar, meanwhile, lost 51% of his overall duels and only won 52% of his aerial battles in 2021/22 for Newcastle, which suggests that the Juventus man would be a major upgrade in terms of his ability to win headers.
The aforementioned ratings of the players in their respective leagues also suggests that Demiral would be the better option, whilst the Turkey international is also six years younger and has the potential to improve in the future - making him an excellent signing in the short and long-term.