The agent of Kenan Yildiz revealed the young Juve talent received a phone call from Alessandro Del Piero after scoring his debut goal. The 18-year-old is considered one of the Bianconeri’s brightest talents, scoring the opening goal in their 2-1 win against Frosinone on his first start for the senior team. Speaking in a lengthy interview with Tuttosport, agent Hector Peris Ros explained why the young talent opted to move to Turin last summer, saying that the Juve project is what attracted him to the Bianconeri:
Hector Peris Ros, when was your first meeting with Yildiz, whose agent you have been since 2021?
“Leaderbrock, which will now also develop in Italy, is an agency specialising in the search for top young talents around the world: I’m thinking of Pedri, Ferrán Torres, but also Rafa, Noah, Adin and Alarcón. At a certain point we chose Germany to expand, with Oliver Noe as director: there we have three people in the field. When they saw Yildiz, they called me and said: ‘This player is different, we need your help’. So I met him and his family and got confirmation of everything’.
In what way?
“Kenan is a machine built to win. He’s been preparing since childhood, that’s his only goal. He impressed me straight away: he immediately reminded me of Ferrán Torres. A mentality, a humility, an uncommon worker. You meet very few with all these characteristics.”
And in Germany? Why did nobody notice him after Bayern Munich?
‘We honestly don’t know. This case reminds us a lot of Pedri’s: nobody knew him, we took him on trial to Real Madrid but they refused him. There began his story, which then blossomed at Barcelona. With Kenan there are many similarities: even at Bayern Munich, despite the excellent relations with Hasan Salihamidžic and Marco Neppe, they were late on the renewal. In Germany, the clubs that had a high international profile all rejected him. Incomprehensible.”
Then came Juventus.
“Matteo Tognozzi did an exceptional job: it is thanks to him that Yildiz is at Juventus today. He knew him perfectly. When he got the information he didn’t waste any time, despite the fact that Juve were closing the sale of De Ligt to Bayern Munich in those days. It was a tense moment, but Juventus won with the project’.
What kind of project?
“We started talking to Juventus as soon as I met Yildiz practically. In the past we were close to closing for Ferrán Torres, so at that moment we thought the time was right to collaborate. In return, we asked that he could play in the Next Gen right away.
Instead, Yildiz’s path has been longer, as he started in the Under-19s. Why?
“Juventus preferred to let him settle in: the club was very insistent, because it was the first time Kenan had left home. It was only supposed to be an initial stage. Then months went by and all of us, including the player, felt that he was expressing himself on a stage that was not competitive enough. So there were some tense moments, also linked to the uncertainty of leaving for training camp with the first team. At that stage we put a lot of pressure on the club, but once the internal confusion due to the change of club had passed, everything was resolved. We clearly knew the level of Yildiz’.
And here we are at Frosinone.
“He came here to score goals like that, but above all to triumph, to win championships and the Champions League: I imagine him here in 10 years time. If Juventus want a number 10, Yildiz is the number 10: this is his role, he is a guy to fall in love with. He is a perfect combination between the flair of his Turkish father, who is a great example for him, and the discipline of his German mother: he knows perfectly what he wants.”
He introduced himself with a Del Piero-esque goal celebration.
“The two of them have been in direct contact for some time now, they even spoke to each other after the goal in Frosinone, which Yildiz had rehearsed many times in training. Kenan knows Del Piero’s value at Juventus and has listened to his advice: he imagines and dreams of such a path. The truth is that Yildiz was ready, is ready and will be ready: physically, technically and mentally. He’s been preparing since he was little to become a top player’.
What is his relationship with Allegri?
“We know it’s not easy in Italy to play with young people, especially at Juventus. But the coach is very intelligent, their relationship is very good. Allegri knows the value of the boy, who feels a strong connection with the coach. Even with Montella the relationship is very good: he didn’t expect to start against Germany and he certainly didn’t imagine playing first with the Turkish national team as a starter and then with Juventus, but it went very well.
Why did nobody in Germany notice Yildiz?
“We really can’t explain it. But really no one noticed him. In our position, it was not easy to manage everything, even on a family level. Turkey was the only option because Germany was never interested in Kenan’.
Pedri won the Golden Boy in 2021. Does Kenan have the same depth in perspective?
“Kenan is electric: he has goals and imagination, potentially he has the depth of Pedri. I am convinced he will have space at Juventus and I am 100 per cent sure that a player with his qualities can win the Golden Boy in the future. I have no doubts. Certainly it is an individual prize for which he can strive, as early as 2024. Juventus is aware that they have a player of absolute top levels. I spoke with a big club in recent days, who expressed to me their difficulty in finding top level talent who can become future leaders. Here, Kenan already is one’.
You speak of Yildiz as a revolutionary player, also in terms of marketing.
“I like him better with long hair, that can help, but Allegri decides (laughs, ed). I think that even physically he has the potential to become a symbol of the new generation, but our first objective is the pitch: the rest will come as a consequence.”
