24 June 2023
Season 2022/2023, Kenan Yildiz's first with the Juventus shirt, was a year that witnessed an impressive growth for the talented youngster.
Born in 2005, the Turkish striker - born in Germany, in Regensburg - joined the Bianconeri in the summer of 2022 from Bayern Munich and in less than twelve months he has sparkled for both the Primavera and Next Gen.
Let's retrace Kenan's season through the standout numbers and moments of his season.
HIS NUMBERS THIS SEASON
Let's start with one specific number: 45 - the total appearances Yildiz amassed in all competitions combined. This number tells the impact the seventeen-year-old made at Under 19 level - and later in Next Gen - on his first experience outside of Germany.
Kenan wore the Primavera shirt 37 times, of which 30 in the league, including the Final Phase, six in the UEFA Youth League and one in the U19 Italian Cup. Adding to his total appearance number were the eight games with Next Gen, the first among the ranks of professionals, split between the championship and the Coppa Italia Serie C.
Focusing on his Under 19 performances, 15 goals in thirty games stand out - 11 of which in the league placed Ylidiz immediately behind Nicolò Turco (13) and Tommaso Mancini (12) as Juve's top scorers in the competition. His overall total however made him the most prolific marksman of the season with the Under 19 side.
His season became even richer when he also started playing with Next Gen. He turned out seven times in the league and once in the Coppa Italia Serie C as a substitute in the return leg of the final at the "Romeo Menti" against Vicenza.
Among these matches, each with its own importance, there were also Yildiz's two debuts: on 19 August 2022 with the Primavera and on 17 December in Serie C.
PRIMAVERA DEBUT
Kenan's first time with the Primavera was on 19 August 2022, the opening day of the 2022/2023 championship. Juventus Under 19 were away to Sassuolo and there was a high level of curiosity around the team coached by Paolo Montero, also on his first outing in the Bianconeri dugout.
There were many new faces, including Yildiz, on the pitch in the match that finished 1-1. Having settled in to his surroundings, Kenan already began to shine in his second match, providing two assists in the 4-0 success against Udinese during the first outing of the season in Vinovo in front of the home fans.
NEXT GEN DEBUT
The "Giuseppe Moccagatta" in Alessandria, 17 December, Massimo Brambilla's team is playing the penultimate match before the break for the Christmas holidays. The Bianconeri were trailing 1-0 against Virtus Verona, so just after an hour of play, Yildiz was thrown into the action. Although Juventus failed to turn the game around, the strong emotions of his debut could not fade on a personal level. Kenan added another six appearances, including the return leg of the Coppa Italia Serie C final.
Not a bad start for our class of 2005.
