Manchester United have set their sights on Juventus starlet Kenan Yildiz as one of their “top names” for the attacking midfield position next summer, though the 19-year-old will be difficult to prise away from the Serie A club.
Florian Plettenberg (Sky Sports Germany) reveals the Red Devils are “impressed by [Yildiz’s] development” with the Old Lady and are continuing to “monitor the 19-year-old closely” ahead of next year’s transfer window.
🚨🔴 Excl | Kenan #Yildiz is one of the top names on Manchester United’s shortlist for the attacking midfield position. The club is impressed by his development and continues to monitor the 19 y/o closely ✔️#MUFC are keeping an eye on this position for the summer. However,… pic.twitter.com/sRBO9RRjuH
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) December 2, 2024
Tweet: “Kenan #Yildiz is one of the top names on Manchester United’s shortlist for the attacking midfield position. The club is impressed by his development and continues to monitor the 19 y/o closely.
#MUFC are keeping an eye on this position for the summer. However, we’re told that Yildiz has no plans to leave Juventus. He feels very comfortable at the club, is a fan favourite, and intends to stay with #Juve next summer. His contract runs until 2029.”
The Sky Sports reporter describes Yildiz as one of the “top names on Manchester United’s shortlist for the attacking midfield position” – an area of the team the club are “keeping an eye on for the summer.”
The 19-year-old Turkish international has scored 3 goals and provided 2 assists in 14 league games this season, having firmly established himself as a key starter in Thiago Motta’s 4-2-3-1 system with Juventus.
Often deployed on the left of the attacking midfield unit behind the number nine, Yildiz is a technically gifted footballer who can play anywhere along the front line.
Ruben Amorim has wasted no time in implementing his trademark 3-4-3 formation since arriving at Old Trafford as the club’s new head coach last month. And in a report relayed by The Peoples Person, the 39-year-old has identified the need for a new attacking midfielder to buttress this new three-man attack.
Yildiz appears tailor made for the left attacking-midfield role, with United lacking options capable of playing in tight spaces and using their dribbling skills to help unlock defences. Bruno Fernandes is prone to dropping deeper while Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford are more better running in behind the backline than playing in between lines.
However, Plettenberg reveals Yildiz has “no plans to leave Juventus” and “intends to stay” in Turin beyond this season. The 19-year-old is “very comfortable” in Turin and is described as a “fan favourite”.
This makes the prospect of convincing the talented youngster to swap Italy for England a remote one. But INEOS, who gained full control over the football operation at Old Trafford in February, have shown a willingness to pursue elite talents, even when a deal seems improbable.
The pursuit of 18-year-old defender Leny Yoro from Lille in the summer, with sources in France considering a move to Real Madrid a certainty, demonstrated United will go all out if the recruitment department considers the player an unmissable target; and succeed in doing so.
While Plettenberg’s report suggests it will be difficult for the Red Devils to repeat this trick next summer, it certainly cannot be ruled out if INEOS have set their sights on Yildiz as a key part of Amorim’s rebuild at the club moving forward.
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