Chelsea’s busy summer, both on and off the field, continues.
It’s now a fortnight since the Blues were crowned champions of the world, surprisingly demolishing Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in the Club World Cup Final, thanks to Cole Palmer’s double at MetLife Stadium.
Meantime, in the transfer market, the Blues have already made eight signings, costing in excess of £225m, notably adding João Pedro, Liam Delap, Jamie Gittens, Estêvão Willian and others to Enzo Maresca’s squad, which is already jam-packed full of talent.
Nevertheless, they are far from done just yet, closing in on one ultra-talented attacker, but have they also had a bid rejected for someone who is, potentially, even better?
Chelsea seeking to sign all the forwards
As has been widely reported, including by James Olley of ESPN, Chelsea are close to signing Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig for around £44m, with the Dutchman pushing to leave the Bundesliga side, after they failed to qualify for any European competition.
Simons is certainly a highly-rated player, with Sultan Babajide of Breaking the Lines documenting his ‘stellar performances’ for both club and country, but are Chelsea now eyeing up a move for an even bigger talent?
Well, according to reports in Spain, Chelsea have seen a €70m (around £61m) bid rejected by Juventus for winger Kenan Yıldız.
They add that la Vecchia Signora have reiterated that the Türkiye international is ‘not for sale’ as he is an ‘essential part’ of their plans for the forthcoming campaign, but the player could push for a move.
So, could he soon become the first ever Turkish player to make a senior appearance for Chelsea? Leicester legend Muzzy İzzet was in the Blues’ academy, but never featured at senior level.
What Kenan Yıldız would bring to Chelsea
Despite the fact Juventus only reached the round of 16, comprehensively beaten by both Manchester City and Real Madrid, Yıldız was one of the stars of the Club World Cup.
He was on target against Al Ain at Audi Field, before bagging a brace when I Bianconeri smashed Wydad Casablanca in Philadelphia, cruelly denied a hat-trick by FIFA’s equivalent of the dubious goals panel.
Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout labelled him both “special” as well as a “magnificent” talent, while former teammate Wojciech Szczęsny asserted back in 2024 that he “will be nominated for the Ballon d’Or within 5 years.”
Meantime, featuring in the Guardian’s Next Generation of 2022, Michael Yokhin praised his ‘magnificent technique and close control’ adding that he also possesses a ‘keen eye for goal’, forecasting that the then teenager ‘has a bright future ahead’.
Well, he was certainly proved right because, last season, Yıldız scored 12 goals and registered nine assists across all competitions, racking up impressive statistics in Serie A.
Minutes
2,402
96th
Goals
7
29th
Assists
4
26th
Goals – xG
+2.7
16th
Shots
60th
20th
Progressive carries
115
7th
Progressive passes received
223
8th
Shot-creating actions
130
3rd
Touches in attacking 3rd
752
4th
Average SofaScore rating
7.25
9th
As the table documents, Yıldız ranked highly for pretty much every attacking metric in Serie A last season, which is made all the more impressive by the fact he was a teenager and was plying his trade for a generally dismal Juventus team who were the division’s eighth-highest scorers.
But the key question still remains: is he a bigger talent than Simons? Let’s compare the duo.
Appearances
52
33
Minutes
3,521
2,763
Goals
12
11
Assists
9
8
All statistics below are on a per-90 basis:
Shots
1.5
1.4
Chances created
2.2
2.1
Take-ons completed
2.3
1.4
Dribble success %
54.6%
37.1%
% of touches in the box
7%
5%
Average Sofascore rating
7.30
7.35
As the table documents, Yıldız comes out on top for all the attacking metrics included, most notably pure goals and assists, but also shots, chances created and dribbling.
This very much underlines the Turkish international’s talent and potential, so could he be the next youngster to call Stamford Bridge home?
Maresca and Co will certainly hope so.
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