Montella hails Juventus star Kenan Yildiz: “Very similar to Del Piero” | OneFootball

Juventus attacker Kenan Yildiz received high praise from his national team manager, Vincenzo Montella, who admitted that the youngster shares traits with the legendary Alessandro Del Piero.

The 20-year-old has been at the club since making the move from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2022. It only took him a year to earn back-to-back promotions from the U19 side to Juventus Next Gen, and reach the first team after cementing himself as the most exciting young player in Turin.

Kenan Yildiz has become Juve’s ultimate star

Yildiz has now established himself as the biggest attraction at the club, becoming a fundamental player for the club thanks to his elusive technical skills.

The 20-year-old has also made himself a protagonist on the international level with Turkiye under Montella

Kenan Yildiz (Photo by Francesco Scaccianoce/Getty Images)

The Turkiye head coach has been delighted with the wonderkid, as he backs him to reach new heights in the coming years.

“Yildiz is a very young lad with huge ambitions and is never satisfied,” said the Italian manager in an interview with Rai Radio 1 (via IlBianconero).

“Kenan is a complete player. He started playing for the national team when he still lacked consistency at Juve. His immense quality was already evident.”

Montella compares Yildiz to Del Piero

Since August 2024, Yildiz has been wearing the Number 10 jersey at Juventus, once donned by his idol, Del Piero.

While Montella reckons that the young man still has a long way to reach Il Pinturicchio’s levels, he feels that the two have many things in common in terms of characteristics.

“It’s not easy to play in the number 10 shirt at the age of 19. But this season, I see him as more consistent and aware.

“I don’t know how similar they are in terms of quality, but when it comes to characteristics, he’s very similar to Del Piero.”

The Juventus star has already contributed with two goals and four assists in his five appearances across all competitions this season.