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Türkiye wonderkid
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‘Yıldız’ means star in Turkish and Juventus unquestionably have a substantial one on their books until 2030. Kenan Yıldız has ended constant speculation over his future by committing his future to Juventus and he’s unquestionably the great hope of the Old Lady. In the announcement of his new contract, Juventus repeatedly referenced Alessandro Del Piero with ‘Pinturicchio’ one of Yildiz’s heroes.
The 20-year-old’s development at Juve hasn’t always been linear with the club’s trials and tribulations often stalling it, but Yıldız’s potential is scary. The German-born starlet is one of the best performing attackers in Serie A and he’ll eclipse his own record for goal contributions this season. In September, Yıldız became the youngest captain in Juventus’ illustrious history and we’ve analysed why he’s viewed as a future superstar.
Kenan Yıldız: Future superstar?
Yıldız’s decision to leave Bayern Munich in 2022 raised eyebrows but it’s undoubtedly been the correct decision. The youngster felt that he would be afforded more opportunities at Juventus and he’s already amassed 142 senior appearances for club and country. Although he’s been deployed in different roles, Yıldız is predominately a left-winger and his attacking output has improved steadily in line with his development - he’s averaging 0.6 goal contributions per 90 this season, compared to 0.54 per 90 last season.
And as the graphic above illustrates, Yıldız ranks highly for goals and assists when compared to the best youngsters across the top five leagues. Since making his Juventus debut at the start of the 2023/24 campaign, only three current U21 players have registered more goal contributions - Lamine Yamal, Désiré Doué and Alejandro Garnacho. Yıldız possesses a range of exceptional characteristics and his ceiling is incredibly high with his improvement unquestionable. His physical presence is imposing but he combines that with sublime technical skills, composure and flair. Chelsea, Arsenal and Real Madrid are just some of the leading European clubs to monitor the Juventus starlet closely over recent years but he will continue his development in Turin for the next few years.
The view from Italy
To ascertain how Yıldız is viewed in Italy and the reaction to his extension, we spoke to Stefano Buonfino, Serie A expert at Transfermarkt. “The renewal comes as no great surprise; the only doubt was whether the management might decide to cash in on him in order to have a huge budget to spend on the transfer market. But Yıldız seems destined to be the symbol of Juve for years, considering that he received the number ten jersey worn by Del Piero and other champions at only 19 years of age. He is predestined for greatness.
Ahead of the Derby D’Italia between Juve and Inter Milan this weekend, Buonfino added: “The renewal confirms Juve's intention to make him the face of the team. He is highly regarded. Obviously, his fans adore him, and he is considered the only top player on the team, perhaps along with Bremer. But he is appreciated or feared by everyone. At the moment, he is certainly one of the best players in Serie A, one of the few who can make a difference almost single-handedly, and this at only 20 years of age.”
