Italian journalist Riccardo Trevisani has been delighted by the performances of Juventus teenager Kenan Yildiz.
The club granted the Turk the Number 10 jersey at the start of the season after penning a new and improved contract, thus anointing him as the rightful heir to his idol, Alessandro Del Piero.
But despite his undisputed talent, Yildiz struggled to deliver on several occasions this season, and appeared to be out of sorts during Thiago Motta’s final few outings before his sacking in March.
The Italian Brazilian had in fact relegated the attacker to the bench on his final match as Juventus boss, keeping him in the dugout for the duration of the contest while the team was getting pummelled in Florence.
Nevertheless, Yildiz’s status as an automatic starter was immediately restored upon the arrival of Igor Tudor. The Croatian has been fielding the youngster in a more central role on the pitch, and the latter has responded by scoring two fabulous strikes in three outings.
These vivid performances came as a timely reminder of the teenager’s elusive skillset. For his part, Trevisani believes Yildiz has all the attributes of a world-class player, backing him to break into the Ballon d’Or shortlist in a couple of years.
“He is the true light of this team, despite the fact that he still has to grow,” declared Trevisani during his appearance on Pressing via IlBianconero.
“He is not a small player. For me, he will end up in the 30-man shortlist of the Ballon d’Or within two years. He is a great player for me.”
Yildiz was expected to start on the bench on Monday after picking up a knock in training. However, the match against Parma has been postponed to Wednesday following Pope Francis’ death, which could provide the young attacker with the opportunity to regain his full fitness and push for a starting role.
