Kenan Yildiz: Is This A Striker Built To Win?

Juventus’s policy of rejuvenating its squad is going quite successfully. It needed to be done back in 2019. The former Champions League finalists were already thinking about retiring. Still, better late than never. Organizing a youth team project was a good time and money investment. Kenan Yildiz, the Turkish striker, became perhaps the most successful Next Gen example.

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Gamblorium experts believe that the correct strikers’ assessment is of great importance. Their effectiveness is determined by a strong physique, high speed, quick reaction, and endurance. The striker must be good in the air and hit the ball wherever it is. Besides, he must always work ahead, and be accurate, sudden, and effective in one-on-one play. This is exactly what Kenan Yildiz is.

Italian Football Star Of Turkish Origin

Kenan is currently honored to be considered the most promising football player in the Next Gen project. He is also the main victory of the former head of Juventus youth scouting Matteo Tognozzi. The German cities of Regensburg and Herzogenaurach are only 100 kilometers away from each other. Regensburg is a famous historical Bavaria centre recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is one of the oldest cities in Germany that attracts many world cultural, music, cinema, etc., representatives. Herzogenaurach is mostly known for being Adidas headquarters. There are no contact points between one of the main world sports brands and a city with a rich historical heritage but no special football traditions.

In 2015, Adidas official sales representatives decided to attend a training session at the Bayern Children’s Academy. On the football field, they noticed a thin boy who handled the ball more confidently than his peers. This confidence struck the guests from Herzogenaurach. So, they offered the boy and his family a sponsorship contract. This way, ten-year-old Kenan Yildiz became the youngest football player in history with whom Adidas has ever entered into such an agreement.

Kenan handled the ball even at an early age at the level of accomplished athletes. He was distinguished by ultra-fine technique at the level of reflexes, instinctive body movement in the right direction, and lightning speed. Naturally, he was compared to such stars as Mesut Ozil – both in origin and in his open-field position. Moreover, the very fact of the formation of young talent on the Bavarian training campus is already a definite symbol of absolute quality. He received the best conditions and the best coaches. Since the start of his studies in the youth structure of the German giant, Yildiz was considered one of the brightest students, along with Paul Wanner and Ariyon Ibrahimovic.

From Bayern to Juventus: Yildiz’s Unique Path

However, no matter how good Yildiz was, it turned out incredibly difficult to break into the Bayern team from the academy. In addition, even for the rare position of 10 in Munich, there is fierce competition. Therefore, in 2022, the 17-year-old German decided to continue his career outside the country. However, it was hard. Hector Perez recalled that no one was interested in Yildiz. The clubs ignored the proposals or postponed them. But Perez is the man who hired Pedri to Barcelona after multiple refusals, so he had some experience. Soon he was able to attract Juventus’ interest.

Bayern, by the way, didn’t hurry to part with Kenan – the contract expired at the end of the season, but the Munich team intended to extend it someday. Hector Perez had to convince the Germans to back down and let Yildiz go to Juventus. Bayern urgently needed Matthijs de Ligt, the Munich team came to the Italians expecting difficult negotiations. Meanwhile, the Italians asked for Yildiz. Hasan Salihamidzic quickly released the unknown pupil. But Juventus took the transfer very seriously. Yildiz went for a walk around the youth teams – Juventus Primavera and Juventus Next Gen. There, Kenan grew stronger, and in just 50 matches (in which he scored 22 goals) he convinced Massimiliano Allegri that he was ripe for the main team.

In the 2023/24 season, Kenan began to be involved in the game as a first-team player. Cumulatively, he logged a thousand minutes. But this time was enough to make the tiffozi fall in love with him. Allegri mainly used him on the left and as a forward striker. Just like in childhood, Yildiz did not hesitate to play around, incinerated his zone, and constantly aggravated the situation.

The final touch for Kenan to become one of the leading Juventus attack line forces was his performance in the Cup match against Salernitana. Kenan came on as a substitute after Federico Chiesa’s fine play, marking his permanent position as Allegri’s extended striker towards the end of the second half. Noticing the constant failures of the opponents on their right flank after losing the ball, Kenan moved deeper there to increase the quantitative pressure. He managed to hit the goal of the senior Inzaghi’s team twice. The first goal looked a little accidental due to a frankly weak shot and a rebound from the defender. Nevertheless, the 2nd one became a true masterpiece, repeating the goal against Frosinone almost in detail.

Of course, such a factor of working with young people as a second team helped a talented football player. He adapted to a new country and a new football culture without losing quality playing time. We believe that the precedent of Kenan Yildiz will be the first in a series of attracting future young stars and will not remain the only noticeable breakthrough among a string of mediocre personnel.