Merih Demiral turns down offer from Turkey

Atalanta defender Merih Demiral has turned down an offer from a Turkish Super Lig club as he waits for Inter Milan to move for him.

This according to SportItalia transfer market expert Alfredo Pedulla, who reported in a tweet that the 25-year-old has rejected a two-year contract offer with the option of a third season, as his priority is still to make the switch to the Nerazzurri for next season.

Barring any major surprises, Demiral will leave Atalanta this summer.

Last season a rift formed between the Turkish international, who is under contract with La Dea until the end of June 2026, and his coach Gian Piero Gasperini.

He is out of the project in Bergamo and Atalanta will look for a new club.

The Nerazzurri had already reportedly been close to signing the Turk during the January transfer window of last season. At the time, they had lined him up as a possible emergency replacement for Milan Skriniar.

Inter were ready to move for Demiral if Paris Saint-Germain had made an acceptable offer to sign Skriniar midseason. In the end, that did not happen and so both Demiral and Skriniar stayed put.

However, that delayed the inevitable. Skriniar has left Inter and joined PSG, so the Nerazzurri are ready to reignite their pursuit of Demiral to replace the Slovakian international.

Merih Demiral Lukewarm On Turkey Offer – Wants To Wait For Inter Milan

Given that the Nerazzurri have failed to sign Cesar Azpilicueta, they are starting to run out of time and options to replace Skriniar.

Therefore, a move for Demiral looks more and more likely.

There is still Atalanta to convince. La Dea will have to accept a Nerazzurri offer. However, the fact that the Lombard team are trying to move on from Demiral means that they will certainly have ample motivation to make a deal.

Pedulla reports that Atalanta are closer to signing Hellas Verona’s Isak Hien than they are to Udinese’s Rodrigo Becao. In fact, the latter is in talks with Fenerbahce.

In any event, on the player’s end, Demiral wants Inter.

The Turkish former Juventus and Sassuolo defender is waiting for the Nerazzurri. He has already turned down a bid from a club in his native Turkey, and for the time being only wants to wait and see if Inter can agree a deal with Atalanta.