Juve are building for the future with a plethora of young talent, and do not particularly want to sell their emerging stars. Although it was a bit of a surprise that versatile attacker Samuel Mbangula was allowed to leave for German giants SV Werder Bremen this week.
Mbangula’s former Juventus Next Gen team-mate Kenan Yildiz is the Bianconeri’s prized asset, and was given a staggering €100 million (US$117.3m) price tag in January.
The Turkish talent’s season started with a bang under Thiago Motta, but he faltered for a while following his extraordinarily high valuation.
Yildiz soon got his groove back once Igor Tudor took over the reins from axed Motta, and impressed at the Club World Cup.
His exploits in the competition included a brilliant display against Morocco heavyweights Wydad AC, which cemented his value to Juventus and signaled that he has the makings of becoming a soccer superstar.
Tudor was full of praise for Yildiz after that match, and claimed in the press conference: “Yildiz has huge potential, he has rare qualities. He can make the difference up front with the dynamism of a midfielder. He's a special talent, but it’s his mentality that will take him far.”
Although Juventus issued a hands-off policy for Yildiz earlier this year, it came as no surprise that cash-rich Chelsea decided to make a cheeky bid of at least €65m (US$76.2m) according to today’s La Gazzetta dello Sport in Italy.
Wages do not reflect contribution
Yildiz, who smashed club records last season, ranks only 24th on Juve’s 2024/25 squad wage bill according to the website salarysport. His breakthrough season saw him bag a dozen Serie A goals, but he contributes much more than finding the back of the net.
He reportedly earns an annual wage of €540,000 (US$631.7k), which was under half of the salary that Mbangula picked up last season. The German-born 20-year-old’s earnings are dwarfed by Juve’s top earners.
This is a matter that needs to be addressed if Juventus are intent on retaining their rising star. His super agent Jorge Mendes recently offered Yildiz to Barcelona.
Mendes kicked off a much-hyped media campaign about his client, which attracted numerous European giants being linked to landing the Juventus fan favorite.
Yildiz aims to follow his hero
Yildiz, whose goal is to become a Juve legend and follow in the footsteps of his hero Alessandro Del Piero, needs to be valued by the Turin titans and not lag behind team-mates in the salary stakes.
The Bianconeri are desperate to tie the left winger down to a much-improved contract, which could end up being ten-fold, rather than sell him.
Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca is a big fan of Yildiz, and the Premier League club have a terrific working relationship with Juventus. So if he is ever sold, Chelsea should be in pole position over rivals like Arsenal and Manchester United.
Yildiz was issued with the iconic no10 Juve jersey, which was worn by such icons as Roberto Baggio, Del Piero and Michel Platini. This was a symbol of how important he is to Juventus, despite his measly wages.
Improved Juventus deal needed
Having stepped up to the challenge of last season, and far exceeded expectations, Yildiz is only likely to remain in Turin if he is rewarded with a bumper new contract in line with his team-mates, and ideally be propelled into the Bianconeri’s top five highest-paid players.
His current contract expires in 2029, so any new deal would be extended by a year with a massive wage hike to reflect his importance to Juventus.
Although the club are not entertaining any offers during the summer transfer window, they must put their money where their mouth is by showing financial commitment that Yildiz is the face of Juve’s future.