Turkey defender Merih Demiral made history as he scored the fastest knockout goal in European Championship history. Demiral gave Turkey the lead from a corner after just 57 seconds in their last-16 match against Austria, with Vincenzo Montella's side going on to win the match 2-1 and set up a quarter-final clash against the Netherlands. Demiral also scored Turkey's second in identical fashion, earning his nation a spot in the quarter-finals of a major tournament for the first time in 16 years.
The 26-year-old currently plies his trade in Saudi Arabia for Al-Ahli, but could have joined Liverpool back in 2021. At the time, Liverpool were in desperate need of defensive reinforcements after Virgil van Dijk suffered a serious ACL injury after a clash with Jordan Pickford during the Merseyside derby. In the January transfer window, Liverpool considered moves for a number of defenders and reports from Italy claimed they were interested in Demiral.
He was playing for Juventus at the time, but the Italian giants did not want to sell him and Sport Mediaset reported that they rejected a 'monstrous' bid of €57million (£48m) for Demiral. Liverpool ultimately went on to sign Ozan Kabak on loan from Schalke and Ben Davies from Preston North End. Neither player was a success at Anfield, though, with Kabak making nine Premier League appearances and failing to convince Liverpool to sign him permanently.
He ended up joining Norwich on loan the following season, before making a permanent move.
