Liverpool hold interest in Juventus ace Kenan Yildiz and have learned he will cost a significant fee of €80million (£66.3m / $84.6m) to sign, it has been claimed.
According to the latest reports, Liverpool are among a number of top clubs hoping to add Yildiz to their ranks after being impressed by his classy performances for Juventus. It is described as an ‘ambitious’ deal to pull off as Juve rate the winger very highly and have no intention of selling him on the cheap.
Yildiz is ‘happy’ in Turin but could be tempted by the opportunity to move to the Premier League, where the majority of top players test themselves out.
The report, which comes from CaughtOffside, states that scouts from Liverpool and several other major English sides were in attendance to watch Yildiz during Juve’s recent games against AC Milan and Lecce.
Should Liverpool step up their bid to land the exciting 19-year-old, then they could face strong competition. Manchester United, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund are all tracking him, too.
The report names Yildiz as a player who could strengthen Liverpool’s attacking options in case Mo Salah departs.
But it has been claimed that Liverpool are edging closer to agreeing a contract extension with Salah, much to the delight of the club’s supporters.
If Yildiz did end up moving to Liverpool, then the Reds will hope that he is more successful than some of their other recent captures from Juve.
Arthur Melo joined Liverpool on a season-long loan from the Serie A giants in September 2022 but only made one appearance for the club as he struggled with injury.
Federico Chiesa swapped Juve for Liverpool in August via a £12.5m (€15m / $15.9m) deal. He was brought in to provide backup for Salah but has only featured three times due to injury.
This update on Yildiz comes after it emerged recently that Man Utd could swoop for the Turkey star to help new boss Ruben Amorim.
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Meanwhile, Liverpool remain eager to sign Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad after he rejected their advances over the summer.
Reports claim Liverpool are ‘fighting’ Arsenal for Zubimendi, who has also been mentioned as a possible replacement for Rodri at Manchester City.
Zubimendi is understood to be more open to leaving Sociedad in summer 2025 than he has been previously.
Sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk that Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez is high up on Liverpool’s wish list alongside Zubimendi.
Arne Slot has identified Kerkez as an ideal successor for Andy Robertson at left-back. Although, Real Madrid have reportedly joined the hunt for the Hungarian.
Madrid believe Kerkez can future-proof the left-back position amid concerns over Ferland Mendy.
TIMELINE: Kenan Yildiz’s rapid rise
ByNathan Egerton
July 2022 – Juventus fought off competition from Barcelona to sign Yildiz on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract at Bayern Munich.
December 2022 – After initially playing for the Under-19s, he made his senior debut for Juventus Next Gen in a Serie C game against Virtus Verona.
August 2023 – He came off the bench to make his Serie A debut for Juventus in a 3-0 win over Udinese.
October 2023 – The forward made his senior international debut for Turkey, coming off the bench in a Euro 2024 qualifier against Croatia.
November 2023 – Yildiz scored his first international goal for Turkey in a 3-2 defeat against Germany.
December 2023 – He scored his first Serie A goal for Juventus in a 2–1 win over Frosinone, making him the club’s youngest foreign goalscorer in Serie A at the age of 18 years and 233 days.
May 2024 – The 19-year-old won the first major trophy of his career after making a substitute appearance in the 2023/24 Coppa Italia final win over Atalanta.
July 2024 – He made five appearances for Turkey at Euro 2024 and helped the country reach the quarter-finals.
August 2024 – Yildiz signed a new contract at Juventus and was given the No 10 shirt, following in the footsteps of Alessandro Del Piero, Paul Pogba and Paulo Dybala.
September 2024 – He marked his Champions League debut with a goal in a 3-1 win over PSV Eindhoven. The goal made him the youngest-ever goalscorer for Juventus in the Champions League, beating the record set by Del Piero.
October 2024 – Yildiz came off the bench to score his first Derby d’Italia goals, netting a brace in a 4-4 draw with Inter Milan.