Introducing one of Serie A's brightest talents, Juventus' Kenan Yildiz.
Juve's Yildiz is showing all the signs to become one of Europe's top forwards in the coming years.
The Old Lady hired Thiago Motta before the start of the season, with the hope that he can guide the club back to the top of domestic and European football. The appointment of the former Italy international has played into the hands of the Turkish winger, who has started seven of a possible nine games in the Serie A.
Up to now, Yildiz has repaid the faith placed in him by Motta, registering three goals and two assists across the Serie A and UEFA Champions League this season, bettering his goal contribution tally from the 2023/24 league campaign in 18 fewer appearances.
Juve's exciting prospect poses such a threat through his unpredictability on the ball, with the 6ft 2ins winger extremely comfortable on both feet, allowing him to take on his opponent on both sides.
We assess Yildiz's background and development in our Scouting Europe series.
Kenan Yildiz is 19 years old and was born on 4th May 2005 in Regensburg, Germany.
However, he is of Turkish descent and has decided to represent the Turkey national team.
Kenan Yildiz is 6ft 2ins and has a lean and athletic build. His explosive pace and impressive physical attributes makes facing him a tough task for defenders.
Yildiz is predominantly right-footed, though he's demonstrated throughout his early career that he's more than comfortable on his left foot.
Yildiz plays the majority of his minutes on the left hand side of a front three for Juventus, cutting inside onto his stronger right foot. That said, he is positionally flexible, allowing him to play centrally on occasions this season.
Yildiz thrives most when there is space to run into, enabling him to display his ability to hold off defenders whilst maintaining high speeds.
The winger tends to allow the opposition's defenders to get very close to him, trusting his own ability to require just one touch to get past them and break into space.
He is extremely proactive and direct, rarely letting the game pass him by and always aiming to make an impact, whether that be on the ball or off it.
This element of his game was visible in Juve's contest away at Inter Milan on Sunday 27th October 2024. Yildiz was introduced after 62 minutes, with the Old Lady trailing 4-2 to put their unbeaten record in the league in jeopardy.
Juve's number 10 turned the game on its head, netting two goals with his supposed weaker left foot, silencing the San Siro and rescuing a point for his side.
Metric | Total Per 90 | Top 5 Leagues Rank |
Passes attempted | 35.36 | Top 5% |
Pass completion | 81.5% | Top 4% |
Progressive passes | 3.79 | Top 5% |
Progressive carries | 4.25 | Top 3% |
Successful take-ons | 1.94 | Top 3% |
Tackles | 1.43 | Top 3% |
Statistics obtained from fbref.com and compares Yildiz to positional peers across the top five leagues in Europe. Correct as of 20/10/2024.
Yildiz spent time in his youth career at an array of clubs.
In his early years, he stayed in Regensburg, playing for Sallern Regensburg and Jahn Regensburg.
Yildiz was then recognised by German giants Bayern Munich. He made the move to the Bavarians at the age of seven and left the club in 2022, joining the Juventus setup.
He made 14 appearances for Juventus Next Gen, also known as Juventus's reserve team, before being granted an opportunity to play for Juve's first team.
Since the start of the 2023/24 season, the winger has featured 36 times for the Italian side, and given his recent progress, is set for many more.
Despite being born in Germany, Yildiz decided that he would play for Turkey in his senior international career.
Representing Turkey at youth level in the U17 and U21 setup, Yildiz was granted his first opportunity for the senior team on 12th October 2023 in a win over Croatia in Euro 2024 Qualifying.
Despite failing to score at the Euros finals, Yildiz impressed on the main stage, part of a Turkey team that reached the quarter-finals of the competition.
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He is a young player, but already a great player that we must exploit in the best way, both as a winger and as a midfielder. However, I am convinced that great players can play anywhere and very well.
Juventus manager, Thiago Motta