Juventus wait on Luciano Spalletti as deal for ‘alien’ Kenan Yildiz nears

If there was any doubt about the esteem in which Juventus manager Luciano Spalletti holds Kenan Yildiz, it was dispelled after last week’s Champions League win over Benfica.

“Yildiz is the team’s alien,” said Spalletti. “He turns situations on their head.”

It was not the first time the Italian has indulged his penchant for a poetic turn of phrase when speaking of the Juventus No 10, and it would not be the last. 

Spalletti was at it again on Sunday, when Yildiz produced an appropriately otherworldly finish in a crushing 3-0 victory over Napoli, commanding time and very limited space as, pursued by opposing defender Juan Jesus, he slowed things down at the very moment when the more natural instinct would have been to panic. With Jesus bearing down on his shoulder and goalkeeper Alex Merey advancing ahead of him, Yildiz waited for a split second before calmly slotting home to double Juve’s advantage. 

Luciano Spalletti: ‘Kenan Yildiz is an alien’

It was the crowning moment in a performance that, but for some wayward finishing by Khephren Thuram and Francisco Conceicao, might have yielded even more. The 20-year-old Turkey international nonetheless did enough to turn Spalletti’s thoughts starwards once again.

“Yildiz played as the striker and scored,” enthused the Italian. “He’s an alien, not a normal footballer. Every now and then he does something wrong just to see if he can fit into normality, but he can’t. He simply can’t become a normal footballer.”

It is a view shared across Europe. Chelsea and Arsenal both had bids for the 20-year-old Turkey international rejected last summer, while Real Madrid are reportedly monitoring Yildiz’s progress. With Juventus fifth in Serie A, however, just a point adrift of Napoli and third-placed Roma, and still in contention in the Champions League, where they are 15th but only a point behind Paris Saint-Germain in sixth, there is no question of Yildiz going anywhere in the immediate future.

Uncertainty over Yildiz’s future

Longer term, though, the outlook is less clear. While Yildiz’s contract runs until the summer of 2029, talks over an improved deal that would significantly increase his earnings have remained ongoing for the past six months. Losing Yildiz, the jewel in the Juventus crown, is unthinkable. 

It is a case of double jeopardy for the Turin club.

In the three months since Igor Tudor’s brief reign came to an end, Spalletti has been no less fundamental to the upturn in Juve’s fortunes than Yildiz. The Italian has won a dozen of his 18 league matches at the helm, suffering just two defeats, and altered the club’s mood, trajectory and identity. Unsurprisingly, as with Yildiz, Juventus now want to extend Spalletti’s contract, which currently runs until the end of the season. The manager, however, has made it clear he sees his future in Turin as inextricably linked to that of the club’s young star; if Juventus want to keep Spalletti, they must also keep Yildiz.

Juventus close to agreement over Yildiz

Happily for the Bianconeri, the signs appear to be encouraging on the latter front. Following a claim by Gazzetta dello Sport that Spalletti is reluctant to commit his future to the club until a new long-term deal for Yildiz has been secured, reports have emerged in Italy that the forward is close to agreeing a revised contract, worth an estimated £5.2m a year, that would keep him at the club until 2031. 

With Serbian forward Dusan Vlahovic expected to leave Turin when his contract expires this summer, the deal would make Yildiz the club’s highest paid player. It is understood the contract has been signed off by club owner John Elkann, with an announcement expected either side of the current transfer window. 

Assuming all goes as planned, Juventus will hope that Spalletti follows his gallatico in signing on the dotted line.