Juventus will replace the departing Demiral from within the squad

Merih Demiral could leave Juventus in the next few hours as he closes in on an initial loan move to Atalanta.

The Turkish defender has been the fourth choice centre back at Juventus for much of his time at the club.

He has always wanted a more prominent role, but with Giorgio Chiellini signing a new deal and the likes of Leonardo Bonucci and Matthijs de Ligt untouchable at the club, he looks set to finally leave.

Atalanta wants to replace another ex-Juventus man, Cristian Romero with the former Sassuolo loanee.

This move will help the Bianconeri offload a player that has struggled for relevance, but his transfer might leave them short of options at the back.

Reports have linked them with a move for the likes of Nikola Milenkovic before now, but Tuttomercatoweb is reporting that the Bianconeri has no plans to add any new defenders to their squad this summer.

The report claims that if Demiral leaves, Juventus will look to Daniele Rugani and Radu Dragusin to step up as his replacement.

Rugani spent last season on loan at Rennes and Cagliari while Dragusin was promoted to the Bianconeri first team and he has signed a new long-term contract with them.