Nottingham Forest will get a golden chance to sign Merih Demiral this summer as Atalanta are willing to let him leave. The Reds tried to sign the Turkey international in January but they were knocked back by the player.
According to TuttoMercatoWeb, the Serie A club will now allow the centre-back to leave the club this summer. They are going to go in a different direction and that will leave Demiral in limbo.
Unlike the January transfer window, the player does have some time to get things sorted this time around. During the mid-season window, things were far more hectic and ultimately he ended up staying put.
The 25-year-old only signed permanent terms with Atalanta last summer. He’s made 70 appearances for the club in total but Gian Piero Gasperini is now keen to reshuffle his defensive options.
Forest might go in search of a new defender or two of their own this summer. Romain Saiss has already been linked with a move from Besiktas; whilst Conor Coady is thought to be on the radar.
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Demiral is very experienced when it comes to playing in Italy. He’s turned out for Juventus, Sassuolo and Atalanta, proving himself to be a very competent central defender on his day.
Whether Forest will go back into the mix to sign him remains to be seen. After rejecting a move to the City Ground in January, perhaps the club will now turn their attentions elsewhere instead.
Forest have a chance to sign Demiral but it looks unlikely
It has to be said that the ship might have sailed on this one. Demiral earns £60,000-a-week with Atalanta and he’s likely to want a sizeable salary should he choose to head to the Premier League.
Ultimately, the player would have to want the move to take place. Given that he’s already rejected a move to Forest once, it would appear that he’s going to hold out for a better offer.
Demiral will likely go in search of a club that is playing in European competition for his next move. The 37-cap star will want to be playing as high as possible and perhaps that will rule the Reds out of the race.