Should Juventus be worried about the condition of Kenan Yildiz? | OneFootball

While preparing to battle it out with Villarreal in the Champions League, Juventus fans are left to wonder whether the best version of Kenan Yildiz will show up on the big stage once more.

Just two years removed from his senior debut, the 20-year-old has already established himself as the club’s most influential star. Even his idol Alessandro Del Piero has identified him and Khephren Thuram as the two ‘main’ players in the squad.

This season, the Turkish international has already contributed with two goals (both astonishing efforts) and four assists, thus justifying his aforementioned status.

But while Yildiz might be one of the most technically gifted players in the world, it might prove challenging for him to perform at the highest level twice per week.

Is the lack of rest taking its toll on Kenan Yildiz?

As La Gazzetta dello Sport (via TuttoJuve) notes, the young star has been a starter in all of Juve’s six competitive matches thus far this season.

Moreover, Igor Tudor has hardly granted him any rest, fielding him for 99% of the overall game time. He was only substituted twice, in the 87th minute against Parma and the 89th minute in the Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund.

Kenan Yildiz (Photo by Francesco Scaccianoce/Getty Images)

This season, only three Juventus players have played more minutes than Yildiz. These are Michele Di Gregorio, Lloyd Kelly and Pierre Kalulu.

While defenders and goalkeepers are generally expected to last for the entire match, forwards tend to be substituted at some point during the second half, with the manager bringing in fresh legs.

However, Tudor simply can’t afford to rest Yildiz, neither from the start of the match, nor in the second period.

Juventus will turn to Yildiz against Villarreal & Milan

While the squad boasts a host of attacking options, none of them is truly capable of replacing the Number 10’s vision and creativity.

Therefore, many observers felt that the Turk’s levels dropped after the back-to-back wars against Inter and Borussia Dortmund. His display against Hellas Verona was way below his high standards, and even after an entire week of rest, he still didn’t perform to his best against Atalanta.

Yildiz will be expected to start against Villarreal on Wednesday, in what might arguably be a must-win match for Juventus, and four days later, the Bianconeri will take on Max Allegri’s Milan in a top-of-the-table Serie A clash.

The youngster’s performances in these two clashes might answer some of the questions raised above.