HP Terbaru 2023 – Juventus’ creative heartbeat, who is taking Italian football by storm

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By Alex Connor

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The silky playmaker was denied two first-half assists. Firstly, he teed up Khéphren Thuram, who crashed an effort against the post, before dribbling at the Napoli backline, attracting the attention of multiple defenders, and slipping in Francisco Conceição. Still, his teammate’s goal-bound effort was cleared off the line by Alessandro Buongiorno. 

Nevertheless, Yıldız would eventually receive his crowning moment. Deep into the second half, he doubled Juventus’ lead, courtesy of a composed and clinical finish, after Fabio Miretti pounced on Juan Jesus’ mistake. Filip Kostić added a late third to rub salt in the Napoli wounds, and Yıldız ended with that all-important second goal, two chances created, 89% pass accuracy, and three accurate long balls over 87 glorious minutes. 

Juventus manager Luciano Spalletti praised Yıldız with his post-match comments, describing the 20-year-old as “not a normal player” and an “alien.” 

Yıldız now has eight Serie A goals and is the competition’s joint-second top scorer. He has already surpassed his best-ever tally in a single top-flight campaign, after finding the net nine times across the previous two Serie A seasons.

The youngster appears as either an attacking midfielder, winger or inside forward, and is equally effective on the left or in central areas. Yıldız isn’t the quickest, but compensates for it with his inventiveness, flair and technical ability.

Yıldız’s statistics underline that he is undoubtedly the creative heartbeat of Juventus’ attack, and one of Italian football’s most productive forces. Across his 21 Serie appearances this season, he ranks within the top 10% for goals scored, assists, chances created, successful crosses, successful dribbles, and touches in the opposition box. Yıldız doesn’t shy away from defensive work either, sitting in the highest 8% for duels won, with 97. 

Initially, the Turkish International spent most of his youth career in his place of birth, Germany, playing for Bayern Munich, until his contract expired in 2022. He then joined Juventus and has been with the first team since making his Serie A debut in August 2023. 

Later that year, in December, on his first Juventus start, Yıldız netted in a 2-1 victory over Frosinone to become the club’s youngest foreign goalscorer in Serie A, at just 18 years and 233 days. He also broke the same Juventus record in the Champions League when he scored against PSV Eindhoven in September 2024, eclipsing Alessandro Del Piero. 

Yıldız has continued along the same path of blistering ascendency. After being awarded the Juventus number 10 shirt with a new contract in August 2024, he has blossomed with the added responsibility. 

In 2025, the Yıldız was one of only two Serie A players (alongside Inter’s Francesco Pio Esposito) in the 25-man shortlist for the Golden Boy Award. 

This new shirt number, versatility and ability to play off the striker mean that Yıldız has drawn some early and slightly generous comparisons to Juventus legend Del Piero. When asked about this, the 2006 World Cup winner said, “he likes it” because of how Yıldız “sacrifices himself a lot” and creates “beautiful goals.” He also says that Yıldız is becoming the “complete player.”

Juventus’ commanding victory over Napoli meant they moved within a point of their opponents but stay fifth. The Old Lady remains ten points behind league leaders Inter. After winning nine consecutive Serie A titles between 2011 and 2020, Juventus have had to watch their most bitter rivals (both Milan giants and Napoli) revel in Scudetto glory in recent years.

The fans are accustomed to success and watching their teams boss Italian football. Former record goal scorer and club president Giampiero Boniperti coined the infamous, iconic motto: “Winning isn’t important, it’s the only thing that counts.” This trailblazing, driven mentality is woven into the club’s identity and has laid the foundations for its success. 

The new era has involved a rebuild, since the departures of household names such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci. The squad which clinched the title in the 2019/20 season is virtually unrecognisable from the current crop. If Juventus are to return to the summit and dominate Italian football again, then Yıldız is the player to assemble around. Backed by frightening natural ability, his confidence, output and quality are all exponentially rising. 

With Spalletti at the Juventus helm for the rest of the season, he can play a massive role in Yıldız’s development and mould him into one of the world’s most exciting attackers. When he was the title-winning Napoli manager in the 2022/23 season, the veteran coach astutely channelled Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s brilliance. The Georgian winger bears a striking similarity to Yıldız. Both players boast close control and technical prowess, and love cutting inside.

The marquee attacker who bamboozles opponents and excites audiences is the face of the present and the symbol of the future. Yıldız is worth building the project around and could be the player to take Juventus back where they belongs. 

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(Cover image from IMAGO)

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