Juventus have reportedly set a rather high €80m price tag for winger Kenan Yildiz, who has been on the radar of English clubs Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United. The 19-year-old has been seen as a potential replacement to Mohamed Salah by Liverpool, and the latter have expressed the desire of bringing him to England.
According to Caught Offside, the Serie A giants have made it clear that they do not intend to make a deal for Yildiz if the amount is any less than €80m. Yildiz is rated extremely highly by everyone at Juventus, and Liverpool will have to battle hard to get him to come to Merseyside.
New Juventus manager Thiago Motta has consistently selected Yildiz in the first team in order to boost their attacking returns. The Turkey international has not let his manager down, and returned with three goals and two assists in the 15 matches he has played in the Serie A this season.
Liverpool, who are in a quandary over Salah’s upcoming contract renewal (which expires in the summer of 2025), are in the market for a young winger to replace the Egyptian. Manchester United, who are rebuilding under new head coach Ruben Amorim, are also potential suitors of Yildiz.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are looking for a versatile attacker who can play various roles across the front line, and Yildiz seems to fit the bill well for them. The latter is aware of the interest from Arsenal, but Juventus are hell-bent on getting a sizeable amount for the former Bayern Munich youth player.
Liverpool have contract extension worries for their star players
Apart from Mohamed Salah, the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold will also run out of their existing contracts in the summer of 2025. All three players form a part of the old guard at Liverpool, and their new manager Arne Slot will not be keen on losing them all at once.
Liverpool have been in excellent form this season and lead both the Premier League and UEFA Champions League tables. In the former, they have 35 points to their name from 14 matches while in the latter, they have 15 points from five games. They have so far been unbeaten in the continental competition this season.
Edited by Sudeshna Banerjee
