GOAL and Football zone lights in the series NXGN regularly releases young players who can go far in the future or who are already making their mark in (inter)national top football. This time the attention is on Kenan Yildiz, the eighteen-year-old shadow striker of Juventus who has already played five international matches for Turkey.
By Mark Doyle and Wessel Antes
Juventus is certainly not having the best season in club history, but has gained quite a few Turkish fans this year. This all has to do with the development of Yildiz, who has played 770 minutes in the main squad so far la Vecchia Signora. The two-legged goal thief was already accurate three times. But who is this talented Yildiz? In association with GOAL was looking for Football zone it out!
Where it all started
Yildiz was born in Regensburg, located in the east of the German state of Bavaria. He grew up there as the son of a German mother and Turkish father. Although his parents never played football themselves, father Engin soon realized that his son was talented. Yildiz also has a good quality: he is extremely eager to learn.
Through his son's passion, father Engin also learned more and more about the game. Together with Kenan, he watched hours of footage on YouTube, while attending football matches became a shared hobby. Meanwhile, Yildiz became better and better at football. He played a year in the youth of Sallern Regensburg and a year at Jahn Regensburg, after which the great Bayern Munich noticed his talent.
Yildiz played in the youth academy from the age of eight der Rekordmeister. It became clear at the age of ten that he was a super talent. While many teenagers have to wait a long time for their first clothing sponsor, adidas knocked on the door of the Yildiz family early on. That turned out to be a good move by the German sports brand: to this day, Yildiz plays on adidas shoes.
Yildiz went through Bayern Munich's youth academy with seven-league boots. Together with Paul Wanner and Arijon Ibrahimovic, he was seen as the future of the German record champion. However, in the spring of 2022 it became clear that Yildiz's future was not in the Allianz Arena. Bayern Munich recognized Yildiz's talent, but did not want to meet his financial demands.
For Yildiz, this felt like a vote of no confidence, which is why he decided to close the door at Bayern Munich after a decade. Due to his transfer-free status, Yildiz was an interesting option for many top European clubs. It was convinced that he would choose FC Barcelona, but in July 2022 Yildiz signed a long-term contract with Juventus. He himself described this at the time as 'the best option'.
His big break
In Turin, Yildiz initially played for Juventus Primavera, the Under 19 team that also plays in the UEFA Youth League. However, agent Hector Peris Ros believed that his client was ready for the next step. Ultimately, Yildiz played 31 games for Juventus Primavera, in which he scored 12 goals and 7 assists. In December 2022, Yildiz's entourage finally got their way: the ambitious attack leader made his debut in Juve's top promising team: Juventus Next Gen, which plays in Serie C.
In the second half of the previous season, Yildiz appeared more and more often at Juventus Next Gen. For a while it looked like he would play together with Mohamed Ihattaren in the promising team, but no joint matches came to be. While Utrecht fell further and further out of the picture at Juventus, Yildiz put himself on the map among the coaching staff of the first team.
In fact, head coach Massimiliano Allegri was so impressed with Yildiz that he added him to his roster for the 2023 Soccer Champions Tour, Juventus' extensive training camp in the United States. Yildiz participated in the friendlies against AC Milan (3-2 win), Real Madrid (3-1 win) and Atalanta (0-0), in which he secured a permanent spot in Juve's main squad.
Yildiz on his debut for Juventus.
The hard work that Yildiz had put in during the preparation was rewarded by Allegri in the opening weekend of Serie A. During the away match against Udinese (0-3 win), the Turkish talent came on as a replacement for Dusan five minutes before the final whistle. Vlahović. His appearance led to a funny interview from Allegri afterwards.
According to the Italian coach, his pupil had a haircut that was too long. “Yildiz needs to go to the hairdresser. He's touched his hair a hundred times. He has to have it cut tomorrow, and then we'll see,” said Allegri, who got his way. Yildiz immediately had a new hairstyle fitted a day later and now wears a sleek cut.
How things are going now
Yildiz, including his short haircut, has now become an indispensable part of the Juventus selection. With a permanent place in the dressing room and a fixed shirt number (15), he feels completely at home among the stars in Turin. Yildiz has already been in the starting lineup several times at Juventus, but due to the good form of Vlahovic and Federico Chiesa, he often has to settle for a substitute role.
In the past six months, Yildiz also became a full-fledged international for Turkey, his home country. He has already played five international matches since October Al-Yildizlilar. His first international goal? He's already made that one. Yildiz scored a goal in and against his native Germany (2-3 win) during a nice practice victory for the Turks.
Yildiz after his first international goal against Germany.
After his excellent first international match for Turkey, rumors followed that Yildiz demanded more playing time at Juventus. He was subsequently linked to clubs such as Arsenal, Benfica, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and Liverpool. However, Yildiz showed himself stoic on the field and scored his first goal on behalf of Juve on December 23, 2023, when the Italian superpower narrowly won against Frosinone (1-2).
After his first goal for Juventus, Yildiz spoke out DAZN about his relationship with Allegri. “This moment was amazing. I thank our trainer who gave me the opportunity. He is a great teacher for me. He tells me to stay calm and gave me the chance today. I am very happy.” Yildiz is still contracted to Juventus until mid-2027 and for the time being his future indeed seems to lie at the Allianz Stadium.
Greatest qualities
Yildiz is a very modern striker, who has the skill and speed to play in multiple positions. The Turkish attacker can also play as a number '10', winger and shadow striker. Yildiz maintains an overview and his speed of action never lets him down.
Allegri also recognizes Yildiz's qualities. “Kenan has a great football brain. He is technically gifted and plays very directly. In addition, he is an intelligent boy who will never cause a mess,” said the Italian trainer in a video item on Juventus' YouTube channel.
Looking at images of Yildiz, it is noticeable that the teenager does everything at full speed. This is mainly due to his sensational control over the ball. Yildiz is a pleasure to watch and will spoil Turkish football fans with his ball skills for the next twenty years.
Soykan Basar, coach of Turkey Under 19, responded Calcio Mercato a very special claim. “Kenan has more talent than Cristiano Ronaldo. His technique when he has the ball at his feet is better than Ronaldo's.” In any case, Yildiz has already managed to follow in the Portuguese's footsteps: Ronaldo played for Juventus between 2018 and 2021. However, Yildiz will still have to score quite a few goals to reach the same average.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soEKJu2sAm8
Room for improvement
Italians Allegri and Vincenzo Montella, the national coach of Turkey, have already publicly said that Yildiz has everything to become a world-class player. Even his inferior left foot is quite a weapon for the graceful striker.
Yildiz does have to learn to be a little more patient now and then. The striker has shown that he can be quite pushy at both Bayern Munich and Juventus. It is logical that a player with Yildiz's qualities wants to play as much as possible, but with players like Chiesa and Vlahovic in front of him, he is not immediately first choice under Allegri.
Yildiz will only be nineteen years old at the beginning of May and seems to be heading for his first final tournament with Turkey. For someone his age, that would be an extremely special milestone. If Yildiz waits patiently for his opportunities, he will also develop into an important player at Juventus in the long term.
The next Alessandro Del Piero?
Even before Yildiz had made his debut, he was mainly compared to Mesut Özil in Germany. This largely had to do with their shared Turkish origins. In Italy, football fans and journalists regularly think back to the great Giampiero Boniperti, the legendary striker of Juventus in the 1950s, thanks to Yildiz's football qualities.
Yet there is one comparison that is even more often made about Yildiz. The Turkish attacker is said to resemble Alessandro Del Piero, the man who broke many of Boniperti's Juventus records. Yildiz now celebrates his goal in the same way as Del Piero did: with his tongue out of his mouth. In the future, he hopes, just like his childhood idol, to play with jersey number 10 at Juventus.
Del Piero, childhood hero of Yildiz and Juventus icon.
What now?
The market value of Yildiz is according to Transfer market has now risen to 30 million euros. Although the attacker hopes for more playing time at Juventus, there is absolutely no chance that the Italian superpower will let him leave. Even a rental of Yildiz would be out of the question at the moment.
It is clear that Yildiz has surpassed colleague Moise Kean in the pecking order at Juventus. Due to Arkiadusz Milik's injury, he is currently the best alternative to Chiesa and Vlahovic. It is expected that Yildiz will get a fair amount of playing time in the coming months, which will make it relatively easy for him to secure his place in Montella's European Championship selection. It could be a special summer for the ambitious Yildiz, with his first final tournament on behalf of Turkey in his native Germany.
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