The teenage forward was signed up by adidas at the age of 10 and is now being touted as a potential superstar in Turin
On August 20, Massimiliano Allegri handed Kenan Yildiz his Juventus debut, bringing the 18-year-old on for the final five minutes of the Serie A meeting with Udinese at the Stadio Friuli. Allegri was asked in his post-match press conference how he felt Yildiz had fared during. The notoriously gruff Tuscan replied, "He has to get his hair cut. He touched his hair a hundred times. So he has to have it cut tomorrow. And then let's take things from there."
Yildiz went to the barber the very next day and sent a message to his manager: "Mister, football comes first. So, everything you say, I'm going to do – because you're the boss!" Allegri was suitably impressed: "It shows that he's a smart boy who listens."
Indeed, the feeling in Turin is that Turkey's teenage sensation is as intelligent as he is talented, and can become a genuine superstar if he manages to keep his feet on the ground.
Where it all began
Yildiz was born in Regensburg to a German mother and a Turkish father. Neither had played football in their youth, but Yildiz's father Engin quickly realised that his son was gifted, and became a willing student of the game.
"I learned from the games we went to – or from YouTube," he admitted. The online tutorials paid off, with Engin proving an excellent teacher. Yildiz was picked up by Bayern Munich by the age of eight and signed with adidas at 10.
As he progressed rapidly through the under-age teams at Bayern, word spread that in Yildiz, Paul Wanner and Arijon Ibrahimovic, the Bavarians had three potential superstars on their hands.
However, by spring 2022, it was clear that Yildiz had no intention of extending his stay at Bayern. Initially, he seemed bound for Barcelona, but he instead joined Juventus, claiming that the Bianconeri were the "best option" for him.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesThe big break
Yildiz initially played for Juve's Primavera (Under-19s), but agent Hector Peris Ros began pushing – on behalf of his client and his entourage – for the versatile attacker to be fast-tracked to Juve Next Gen, the club's second team.
“Juventus preferred to let him settle in, the club insisted a lot, because it was the first time that Kenan left home," Peris Ros told Turin-based daily . "It was only supposed to be an initial stage. Then months passed and all of us, including the player, believed that he was expressing himself in a stage that was not sufficiently competitive.
"So, there were moments of tension. In that phase, we exerted strong pressure on the club, but the internal confusion due to the change of management (at boardroom level) passed, everything was resolved.
"We clearly knew Yildiz's level." And he slowly began to show it. Yildiz continued lining-up for the Primavera, but made his professional debut in a Next Gen game against Virtus Verona on December 17, 2022, before featuring regularly for the reserves at the tail end of the season.
Allegri liked what he saw and included Yildiz in his squad for the pre-season tour of the United States, which led to his appearance against Udinese on the opening weekend of the 2023-24 campaign.
"The feeling was crazy because you don't know the day before if you're going to play," Yildiz told Juve's official social media account. "But then the mister said, 'Warm up!' I was already shaking a little bit because I was really nervous, I have to say, but when he said my name, it was like 'Wow!'"
How it's going
Despite the constant hair-touching against Udinese, and perhaps because he got his hair cut the following day, Juve's new No.15 came off the bench again the following weekend, this time in a 1-1 draw with Bologna in Turin.
Three further Serie A appearances followed by the end of October and, on November 7, Yildiz was officially promoted to the first team, with Allegri declaring, "Kenan will become a great player."
However, it wouldn't be long before more reports of unrest appeared in the press. After making his Turkey debut as a substitute in the Euro 2024 qualifying win over Croatia on October 12, Yildiz was selected to start in a friendly against Germany the following month, and netted his first international goal against the country of his birth. He featured again three days later, coming off the bench to win the penalty with which Yusuf Yazici earned Turkey a crucial 1-1 draw with Wales in Cardiff.
According to reports, Yildiz and his representatives felt that his exploits with his national team proved that he deserved even more game time at club level. With very little forthcoming, talk of a transfer intensified as the January window approached, with Arsenal, Liverpool, Fenerbahce, Galatasaray and Benfica all credited with interest.
However, Allegri brought Yildiz on late in a 1-1 draw at Genoa on December 15 – his first Serie A appearance since October – before starting him against Frosinone eight days later. With Yildiz once again determined to impress, he took just 12 minutes to open his Juve account with a stunning individual goal, thus becoming the youngest foreign player ever to score for the club.
"For me, this is too great," a visibly emotional Yildiz told after the 2-1 win at the Stadio Benito Stirpe. "Thanks to everyone. To the fans, they are crazy, look at them! And thanks to the coach who gave me a chance. The mister is a great coach for me. When he told me to cut my hair, I didn't wait, and I did what he said. He told me to be calm and he gave me my chance today!"
Getty ImagesBiggest strengths
Yildiz is a very modern forward, in the sense that he has the requisite skill and speed to play in a variety of positions: No.10, winger or second striker. He's also got great vision and impressive decision-making skills.
"Kenan has a great footballing brain," Allegri said in a Juventus-made Youtube video on Yildiz's development. "He's technically gifted and is very direct. As a player, he doesn't mess about."
Indeed, what really stands out about Yildiz is the pace at which he does things, thanks to his sensational control of the ball. He is one of those special talents that is truly a joy to watch in full flight.
Soykan Basar, technical director of the Turkey Under-19s, has even gone so far as to claim, "Kenan is more talented than Cristiano Ronaldo – his technique with the ball at his feet is superior to that of the Portuguese."
