Although the Bavarian was one of the best talents in the youth team, Kenan Yildiz never played in a DFB youth team. Did the German association miss any national players?
His talent was revealed early. When Kenan Yildiz started playing football in his hometown of Regensburg at the age of six, he didn’t stay there long. Sallern Regensburg was his first club and a few months later he joined Jahn Regensburg. He didn’t stay there for long either, because none other than FC Bayern noticed his offensive talent. In 2012, at the age of seven, Yildiz became record champion.
He played there until the summer of last year. Then, after ten years, his stay at the Isar ended unexpectedly. But not because the Munich people did not believe that he could make the leap to the professional category. Otherwise. Yildiz was sometimes captain of his teams, he was one of the best players and influenced the game, mainly in the tenth position.
Bayern did not want to meet Yildiz’s salary demands
The Munich team would have liked to retain him and present him in the first team. But no agreement was reached on a contract extension. The then sports director Hasan Salihamidžić, when he said goodbye to “Bild” in 2022, said: “Yildiz is a young and talented player who we would have liked to continue supporting on his path. However, we could not and did not want to meet his financial demands. “That’s why, unfortunately, Yildiz will leave us.”
Yildiz himself expressed it recently in an interview with “Sport Bild”: “They really wanted to keep me, but it was time to move away from Munich, the best option was to move to Turin.”
Bayern lost a great talent. But the German record champions were not alone.
Because Yildiz will not play with the DFB shirt either. Despite his good results with Munich, the teenager from Regensburg never played for any DFB team. Because? Yildiz, whose father is Turkish and his mother is German, said: “Germany never approached me, never contacted me. So there was no choice, the question did not arise. I am very happy to play for Turkey.” . He plays with Türkiye since the U17 category. Under new coach Vincenzo Montella (replacing Stefan Kuntz), Yildiz even celebrated his debut for the senior team in October against Croatia.
Juventus directly extends the contract
That was the reward for his performance at Juventus Turin. With the Italian record champion, Yildiz was initially recommended for senior duties in the under-19s and second team, which competes in the third-tier Serie C, and in the long term. While he was initially given a contract until 2025, this was extended to 2027 a few months ago.
After only one year, the “Old Lady” was completely convinced of Yildiz’s qualities. Above all, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri. This helped him make his professional debut on the first day of the current season. Since then, there have been four more brief appearances for the first team.
Allegri’s verdict: “He will become a great player.” Yildiz, 1.85 meters tall, has two feet and can be used in various offensive positions. He has brilliant technique and is a goal threat, both as a provider and finisher. In his last season with Bayern he scored four goals in seven games in the U17 Bundesliga and set up five more goals. In his first season in Juve’s U19 he had eleven goals and seven assists in 29 games.