Juventus teen compared to Paul Pogba and told he's 'already among the top three in the world' as former coach left unsurprised by stunning winner against Inter

The 19-year-old’s late strike sealed the Derby d’Italia as Juventus edged Inter 4-3 on Saturday. With the score tied at 3-3 in the 91st minute, the midfielder collected a pass from Jonathan David and unleashed a powerful 25-yard effort that slipped past Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer, despite his touch. The goal preserved Juventus’ perfect start to the campaign.

Adzic’s former coach Brnovic claims he wasn’t surprised to see Adzic scoring from distance as it is his speciality, telling Tuttosport: "I'll say one thing right away: the goal, that kind of goal against Inter, isn't a surprise to me. That's Adzic's value, and now in Italy you'll realize how much he's worth.

"He has something of Pogba, but Vasilije is devastating in the short term. Many here have compared him to Zvone Boban, but it's difficult to compare two ways of playing football so different and distant in time.

"He has it all, always has: physicality, shooting, pace, hunger, and determination. He's a hard worker: in his position, for his age, he's already among the top three in the world in my opinion."

Adzic joined Juventus in 2024 from Buducnost Podgorica and was initially sent to the club’s B-team, Juventus Next Gen, to continue his development. His talent soon caught the eye of former head coach Thiago Motta, who handed him his senior Juventus debut against Lazio in the 2024-25 season, followed by his Champions League debut against Stuttgart.

Brnovic believes this is proof of Adzic’s talent, noting that a club like Juventus wouldn’t sign a player unless they were fully convinced of his quality. 

"Vasilije is definitely the prototype of the modern player: he's unique and he'll prove it, you don't join Juve at 18 by chance," he said. "They followed him for two years, it was a long courtship, and they got there before anyone else."

Adzic will hope that his match-winning goal against Inter convinces manager Igor Tudor to hand him more playing time, both to aid his development and to help Juventus in their push for trophies this season.