Juve on Kerim Alajbegovic: who is the Salzburg player

Young, ambidextrous, talented. Perhaps a bit of a dribbler, undoubtedly growing and – potentially – destined for the big stages. Kerim Alajbegovic turned 18 in September, but for months and months he has been forcing scouts and sporting directors across half of Europe to update his dossier. Left winger born in 2007 in Cologne, at the age of 14 he decided to leave the youth sector of his hometown club to move to another professional club, Bayer Leverkusen. Last summer the Aspirins they sold him to Salzburg for around 2 million euros with the aim of accelerating his growth in a first team context, but they kept the helm of his future with a right of buy again: they would have been crazy not to include the clause at the time of the operation with the Austrians, because today he is already worth between 15 and 20 million and is constantly monitored by top-tier clubs: at home Bayern Munich – always attentive to local talents -, in Italy both Juventus and Milan in the scenario of a crowded group of emissaries who take notes on his exploits every weekend.

uncomfortable comparisons

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Alajbegovic is still a raw talent, but very pure. Due to his age and role he has often been compared to the first Kenan Yildiz, while Salzburg on its official channels preferred to compare his qualities to those of Florian Wirtz, who also blossomed at Bayer Leverkusen. What is certain is the fact that the leap into the first team was not difficult: Kerim has in fact scored 11 goals and three assists in 33 matches of the season, of which 21 started from the first minute. All at eighteen. Salzburg was badly eliminated from the Europa League maxi-group, but they signed one of the two victories – at home against Basel – with a brace. And if anyone had any doubts… Yes, in the championship he often hit even his direct competitors, not limiting himself to scoring goals garbage time: volleyed goals, “circling” shots under the far corner and also a remarkable vision of the game to send his teammates towards goal by serving them with calibrated through balls.

between family and record

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If it weren’t for what he showed in front of the cameras on the edge of the Alps, Alajbegovic would be an ordinary eighteen-year-old: he loves football video games and shooters, listens to German or French rap and thanks his mother who helps him not to feed himself only on improvised meals from outside the office. Here, the closeness of the family is another trait that brings him closer to Yildiz: his mother lives with him in Salzburg and his father Semin, born in Bosnia-Herzegovina, played in the German minor leagues between the 1990s and the early 2000s. It is thanks to his roots that Kerim never played in Germany’s youth team, declaring himself immediately available for Bosnia, who wasted no time: after the various “Under” teams, last September he made his senior national team debut, scoring against San Marino and becoming the youngest goalscorer ever in an official match. Another feat, other notes in the market men’s notebooks: at the end of the season Bayer Leverkusen will exercise buy againthen we’ll see. Juventus, Milan and Bayern Munich (but not only) are following closely.