Market value update
©IMAGO
Turkey has some great talent that has Turkish fans dreaming of a promising future. The golden class of 2005 includes Can Uzun (19; Frankfurt), Semih Kılıçsoy (19; Besiktas), Arda Güler (19; Real Madrid) and the former Munich player Kenan Yıldız (19; Juve). The latter is thrilling in Serie A and received a new market value in the December update, which puts him on a par with the most valuable Turkish professionals in history.
After Yıldız, who was born in Regensburg, was trained in FC Bayern’s youth team, he moved to Italy in July 2022. He made his debut for Juventus last season and scored four goals in 32 appearances. This season he has become more important for the Old Lady and is in the starting lineup more often. With four goals and five assists in 23 games, he repaid the trust of his coach Thiago Motta – across all competitions, only top scorer Dušan Vlahović scored more often.
“Yıldız is one of the most, if not the most, talented footballers in Serie A. If he has a good day, he can single-handedly decide a game. Despite being only 19 years old, he is the player with the most minutes in Motta’s squad after Kalulu, which shows that the young Turk is currently hardly replaceable for Juventus. What he still lacks in order to achieve an even higher market value is consistency,” says Jatin Dietl, Area Manager Italy at Transfermarkt.
As a result, its market value climbs from 40 million to 45 million euros – within a year it has more than quadrupled. This makes Yıldız one of the most valuable Turkish footballers in history. Previously, only Güler, Çağlar Söyüncü and Hakan Çalhanoğlu reached this mark. After the update, Yıldız is one of the most valuable players of his year, only two have a higher market value.
The hype surrounding Güler is shifting towards Yıldız
Yıldız already enjoys a high reputation in Turkey. At the age of 19, he had 17 international matches to his name, and in his second against Germany (3:2) he set an exclamation mark with a goal. He became the fourth-youngest goalscorer in Türkiye’s history. “Thanks to Yıldız, many Turkish football fans are watching Serie A again. Every assist and every goal of his is celebrated with great enthusiasm in Turkey. Two years ago, Yıldız moved to Juventus on a free transfer. Nobody would have thought back then that he could become one of the most valuable Turkish players,” explains Sinan Yener from the Turkish editorial team at TM. He was already an important part of the team at the European Championships in the summer and was in the starting line-up in four of five games.
According to Yener, the hype surrounding Güler has shifted towards Yıldız “Yıldız was in the shadow of Güler for a long time. But since last season, his strong performances have caught up with Güler – both in terms of market value and playing time. With Güler not getting enough playing time at Real Madrid, the Turkish media is now talking more about Yıldız. If he maintains this level of performance and consistency, he could become the first Turkish player to achieve a market value of over 45 million euros.” At FC Bayern, people are probably now annoyed that they let Yıldız go.