Gianfranco Zola, as reported by Italian soccer website Tuttomercatoweb, views the 19-year-old Turkish international as a player who could set the soccer world alight.
Zola, who last coached as Chelsea assistant manager in 2018/19, explained: “Today’s football is very different from the one I played. There are players who have my characteristics, but Yildiz of Juventus is a footballer who has qualities similar to mine.”
The Sardinia-born 58-year-old, who hung up his boots at the end of the 2004/05 campaign with Cagliari, was well-known for his creativity, dribbling skills, technical ability and vision.
Zola has made a U-turn about Yildiz’s talents, having previously sat on the fence when interviewed by Italian paper Tuttosport last October.
He said about Yildiz: “In the wake of [Alessandro] Del Piero it seems a bit premature. He was already making the difference as soon as he came on, scoring important goals.
“Yildiz is really growing very well and I like him a lot, but he still has some ground to cover to get to that level.”
Zola’s former club Chelsea came in for Yildiz last summer, but Juventus turned down their approach with the teenager extending his contract last August until June 2029.
Superstar status
Yildiz was touted as a future superstar by super agent Jorges Mendes since the start of the year with an astronomical price tag €90 million (US$97.4m) thanks to the hype.
Until recently he was attracting column inches in both the British and Italian press about a potential move this summer, which included rumours about a switch to Liverpool and Manchester United.
Yet Juve do not wish to cash in on Yildiz, who they view as a future superstar in the same mould as the legendary Alessandro Del Piero.
Yildiz’s idol is Del Piero, and this term broke the Juventus icon’s long-standing record in the Champions League.
Record breaker
He is the club’s youngest-ever scorer in the continental competition at 19 years, four months and 13 days to oust Del Piero who was 20 years, four months and 10 days. He opened the scoring after 21 minutes against Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven in last September’s 3-1 success.
Yildiz has broken another club record this season by becoming the youngster goal scorer in November’s Derby della Mole. His diving header with six minutes remaining earned Juventus a 2-0 home win over Torino.
German-born Yildiz was lured to the Turin titans from Bayern Munich during summer 2022. Following a season with both the Primavera and Juventus Next Gen teams, he kicked-off his first team career in November 2023.
His 2023-24 campaign under Max Allegri became frustrating as he only started 10 matches in all competitions. Yildiz scored two goals in 27 Serie A appearances, and was on target twice from five Coppa Italia outings.
Ordinary under Motta
Yildiz’s season under Thiago Motta resulted in four goals from 28 Serie A appearances that was littered with some indifferent displays.
Since Igor Tudor took over the reins, Yildiz bagged the only goal in the home victory over mid-table Genoa but failed to find the back of the net in a fiercely fought 1-1 stalemate at AS Roma last week.
Tudor has praised his attackers and enthused: “Kenan [Yildiz] has important skills.”
Although his skills are plentiful, Yildiz still needs tweaking after being fast tracked to the senior side. Tudor has been working on sharpening the shooting skills of his squad this week, aiming to get the best out of Kolo Muani, Dusan Vlahovic and Yildiz.
Yildiz versatility
Yildiz, who frequently plays on the left flank for Turkey, can be utilised as a secondary striker or on either wing. With the visit of relegation-threatened Lecce next, Tudor’s latest tactics could help put Yildiz into the spotlight if he can score or provide goal assists.
He is arguably one of the club’s prized assets and sports the legendary no10 Juve jersey, with his immediate future with the Turin titans.
Yildiz evidently possesses the same potential and talent as former Turin no10 heroes like Roberto Baggio and Del Piero. Zola played alongside Baggio and Del Piero during Italy’s golden age of fantasisti, so his new-found praise for Yildiz is awe-inspiring.