Kenan Yildiz: Juventus wonderkid 'more talented than Cristiano Ronaldo' as he sets out to become the new Alessandro Del Piero

Yildiz was born in Regensburg to a German mother and a Turkish father. Neither had played football in their youth, but Yildiz's father Engin quickly realised that his son was gifted, and became a willing student of the game.

"I learned from the games we went to - or from YouTube," he admitted. The online tutorials paid off, with Engin proving an excellent teacher. Yildiz was picked up by Bayern Munich by the age of eight and signed with adidas at 10.

As he progressed rapidly through the under-age teams at Bayern, word spread that in Yildiz, Paul Wanner and Arijon Ibrahimovic, the Bavarians had three potential superstars on their hands.

However, by spring 2022, it was clear that Yildiz had no intention of extending his stay at Bayern. Initially, he seemed bound for Barcelona, but he instead joined Juventus, claiming that the Bianconeri were the "best option" for him.

Yildiz initially played for Juve's Primavera (Under-19s), but agent Hector Peris Ros began pushing - on behalf of his client and his entourage - for the versatile attacker to be fast-tracked to Juve Next Gen, the club's second team.

“Juventus preferred to let him settle in, the club insisted a lot, because it was the first time that Kenan left home," Peris Ros told Turin-based daily Tuttosport. "It was only supposed to be an initial stage. Then months passed and all of us, including the player, believed that he was expressing himself in a stage that was not sufficiently competitive.

"So, there were moments of tension. In that phase, we exerted strong pressure on the club, but the internal confusion due to the change of management (at boardroom level) passed, everything was resolved.

"We clearly knew Yildiz's level." And he slowly began to show it. Yildiz continued lining-up for the Primavera, but made his professional debut in a Next Gen game against Virtus Verona on December 17, 2022, before featuring regularly for the reserves at the tail end of the season.

Allegri liked what he saw and included Yildiz in his squad for the pre-season tour of the United States, which led to his appearance against Udinese on the opening weekend of the 2023-24 campaign.

"The feeling was crazy because you don't know the day before if you're going to play," Yildiz told Juve's official social media account. "But then the mister said, 'Warm up!' I was already shaking a little bit because I was really nervous, I have to say, but when he said my name, it was like 'Wow!'"

Despite the constant hair-touching against Udinese, and perhaps because he got his hair cut the following day, Juve's new No.15 came off the bench again the following weekend, this time in a 1-1 draw with Bologna in Turin.

Three further Serie A appearances followed by the end of October and, on November 7, Yildiz was officially promoted to the first team, with Allegri declaring, "Kenan will become a great player."

However, it wouldn't be long before more reports of unrest appeared in the press. After making his Turkey debut as a substitute in the Euro 2024 qualifying win over Croatia on October 12, Yildiz was selected to start in a friendly against Germany the following month, and netted his first international goal against the country of his birth. He featured again three days later, coming off the bench to win the penalty with which Yusuf Yazici earned Turkey a crucial 1-1 draw with Wales in Cardiff.

According to reports, Yildiz and his representatives felt that his exploits with his national team proved that he deserved even more game time at club level. With very little forthcoming, talk of a transfer intensified as the January window approached, with Arsenal, Liverpool, Fenerbahce, Galatasaray and Benfica all credited with interest.

However, Allegri brought Yildiz on late in a 1-1 draw at Genoa on December 15 - his first Serie A appearance since October - before starting him against Frosinone eight days later. With Yildiz once again determined to impress, he took just 12 minutes to open his Juve account with a stunning individual goal, thus becoming the youngest foreign player ever to score for the club.

"For me, this is too great," a visibly emotional Yildiz told DAZN after the 2-1 win at the Stadio Benito Stirpe. "Thanks to everyone. To the fans, they are crazy, look at them! And thanks to the coach who gave me a chance. The mister is a great coach for me. When he told me to cut my hair, I didn't wait, and I did what he said. He told me to be calm and he gave me my chance today!"

Yildiz is a very modern forward, in the sense that he has the requisite skill and speed to play in a variety of positions: No.10, winger or second striker. He's also got great vision and impressive decision-making skills.

"Kenan has a great footballing brain," Allegri said in a Juventus-made Youtube video on Yildiz's development. "He's technically gifted and is very direct. As a player, he doesn't mess about."

Indeed, what really stands out about Yildiz is the pace at which he does things, thanks to his sensational control of the ball. He is one of those special talents that is truly a joy to watch in full flight.

Soykan Basar, technical director of the Turkey Under-19s, has even gone so far as to claim, "Kenan is more talented than Cristiano Ronaldo - his technique with the ball at his feet is superior to that of the Portuguese."

As Allegri and Turkey boss Vincenzo Montella have repeatedly pointed out, Yildiz has everything required to become a world-class player. Even his weaker left foot is a decent weapon for a wonderfully graceful player that beats opponents with impressive ease.

However, if there is one concern over Yildiz, it concerns his apparent lack of patience. Confidence is obviously key for any aspiring football and all of the early evidence suggests that he is right to think that the can shine at the highest level.

There are, though, undeniably ominous signs - at least for Juve - that if he is asked to spend a significant amount of time learning his trade in Turin - meaning more time on the bench - rumours of unrest will resurface.

Before he had even made his professional bow, Yildiz was being compared to former Germany international Mesut Ozil, though that was largely due to their origins and shared Turkish heritage. In Italy, meanwhile, fans and journalists of a certain vintage have admitted that Yildiz evokes memories of the great Giampiero Boniperti.

However, the name being most commonly bandied about is that of another Juve legend, the one that broke many of Boniperti's Bianconeri records - Alessandro Del Piero. Yildiz has even adopted the tongue-out celebration of his childhood idol, while his agent says "If Juventus want a No.10, this is Yildiz's role. He is a boy who makes you fall in love."

Del Piero is certainly already enamoured, even sharing a split-pic of himself and Yildiz in an Instagram story.

More game time. Tuttosport claimed back in December that Juventus would consider selling Yildiz for €40m (£34m/$44m), but there is no longer any chance of them allowing him to leave.

Indeed, the Turkey international's fine form - he netted his third goal for Juve in Thursday night's Coppa Italia rout of Frosinone - means that Moises Kean will be the forward to depart during the January transfer window, with Yildiz expected to play regularly during the second half of the season.

Allegri may not be the most offensively-minded coach in world football, and he's no fan of cocky upstarts, but as long as Yildiz keeps his head down, and his hair short, the Juve coach will continue giving him the chances he craves to prove himself the club's next great No.10.