Kenan Yıldız

Kenan Yıldız (born 4 May 2005) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Serie A club Juventus. Born in Germany, he plays for the Turkey national team.

Kenan Yıldız
Personal information
Date of birth (2005-05-04) 4 May 2005
Place of birth Regensburg, Germany
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Juventus
Number 15
Youth career
2010–2011 Sallern Regensburg
2011–2012 Jahn Regensburg
2012–2022 Bayern Munich
2022– Juventus
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022– Juventus Next Gen 7 (1)
2023– Juventus 4 (0)
International career‡
2021–2022 Turkey U17 10 (3)
2022– Turkey U21 6 (1)
2023– Turkey 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:25, 7 October 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13:43, 29 October 2022 (UTC)

Club career

Youth career

Yıldız was born in Germany, and began playing football at the youth academies of Sallern Regensburg and Jahn Regensburg.[2] He joined the youth academy of Bayern Munich in 2012 at the age of 7,[3] and worked his way up their youth categories, often acting as captain an eventually becoming a mainstay of their U19s.[4] In his final year with the Bayern U19s in the 2021–22 season, Yıldız contributed six goals and eight assists in 20 matches.[5]

Juventus

Yıldız's contract with Bayern Munich expired in July 2022, and the club confirmed that they were unable to resign Yıldız.[6] Barcelona and Juventus competed for his signing as he became a free agent.[7] On 12 July, Juventus confirmed the signing of Yıldız.[8] In September, he was included among the best 60 players born in 2005 by English newspaper The Guardian.[9]

After playing with the U19s, on 16 December, Yıldız was first called up to Juventus Next Gen—the reserve team of Juventus—for the match against Virtus Verona set to be played the following day.[10] In that match, he was subbed in by coach Massimo Brambilla in the 61st minute to make his professional debut;[11] the team lost 3–0.[12]

On 20 August 2023, Yıldız made his Serie A debut for Juventus as a second-half substitute in a 3–0 away win over Udinese.[13] Ten days later, he extended his contract with the club until 2027.[14][15]

International career

Yıldız was born in Germany to a Turkish father and a German mother. He is a youth international for Turkey, having represented the Turkey U17s.[16] On 27 September 2022, Yıldız made his Turkey U21 debut, playing 28 minutes against Georgia.[17]

In October 2023, he received his first call-up to the Turkey senior national team for two UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Croatia and Latvia.[18][19]

Playing style

Yıldız is a modern midfielder, known for his strong passing and shots from outside the box. He is known for his excellent technique.[20] His most natural role is as playmaker, and he is noted for this strong frame. Aside from midfielder, he can also play as a winger.[1]

Career statistics
As of match played 22 April 2023[21]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Coppa Italia Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Juventus Next Gen 2022–23 Serie C 70—1[lower-alpha 1]080
2023–24 70——70
Juventus 2023–24 Serie A 4000—40
Total 70001080
  1. Appearances in Coppa Italia Serie C

References
  1. "Fichajes FC Barcelona | ¿Quién es Kenan Yildiz, el talento que tiene el Barça encarrilado?". sport. 30 March 2022.
  2. Uhr, Von Felix Kronawitter 31 März 2022 14:26. "Barcelona lockt Regensburger Yildiz". Mittelbayerische Zeitung.
  3. Hummel, Thomas. "Bundesliga: Die große Jagd nach Jugendfußballern". Süddeutsche.de.
  4. "Bayern'den ayrılacak milli futbolcu Kenan Yıldız'a Barcelona ve Juventus talip". Sporx. 5 July 2022.
  5. Durant, Michel (1 June 2022). "Barcelona 'seriously considering' Bosman move for Bayern Munich midfielder".
  6. "FC Bayern – Knallhart-Poker! Entscheidung bei Wunderkind (17) gefallen". bild.de. 5 July 2022.
  7. ""Barcellona e Juve si sfidano per Kenan Yildiz"". corrieredellosport.it.
  8. JuventusNews24, Redazione (12 July 2022). "Juve Primavera, doppio colpo UFFICIALE: presi Yildiz e Srdoc. La nota del club". Juventus News 24 (in Italian). Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  9. Christenson, Marcus; Bloor, Steven; Blight, Garry. "Next Generation 2022: 60 of the best young talents in world football". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  10. JuventusNews24, Redazione (16 December 2022). "Convocati Juventus Next Gen per la Virtus Verona: tre rientri, prima chiamata per Yildiz". Juventus News 24 (in Italian). Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  11. JuventusNews24, Redazione (17 December 2022). "Esordio Yildiz, primi minuti da professionista con la Juventus Next Gen". Juventus News 24 (in Italian). Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  12. Baridon, Marco (17 December 2022). "Juventus Next Gen Virtus Verona 0-3: crollo casalingo per i bianconeri". Juventus News 24 (in Italian). Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  13. "Juventus, chi è Kenan Yildiz: il classe 2005 che ha esordito in Serie A". La Casa di C (in Italian). 20 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  14. "Kenan Yildiz rinnova con la Juventus!". Juventus.com (in Italian). 30 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  15. "Yildiz, futuro Juve. Firma fino al 2027: "Troppo bello per essere vero"". Tuttosport (in Italian). 30 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  16. "Kenan Yıldızı Ajax ve Juventus transfer etmek istiyor". Fanatik.
  17. "La Juve si gode Kenan Yildiz: prima l'esordio in U21 turca, poi l'incoronazione di The Guardian - TUTTOmercatoWEB.com". www.tuttomercatoweb.com (in Italian). Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  18. "A Millî Takım'ın Hırvatistan ve Letonya Maçları Aday Kadrosu Açıklandı". www.tff.org (in Turkish). 10 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  19. "A Millî Takım Aday Kadrosunda Değişiklik". www.tff.org (in Turkish). 10 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  20. "Chi è Kenan Yildiz, l'ultimo talento accostato alla Juve". Juventus News - Ultime Notizie Juve - il BiancoNero.
  21. Kenan Yıldız at Soccerway. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
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