Arsenal are poised to rival Liverpool for Juventus attacking midfielder Kenan Yildiz in the January transfer window, according to reports.
The 18-year-old has caught the attention of several top European clubs after breaking into the Juventus first team this season.
Yildiz has made five Serie A appearances this term, all of which have seen him come off the bench.
He is yet to make a goal contribution for the Italian club but has shown flashes of quality. Yildiz joined Juventus from Bayern Munich in 2022 and is touted to become a superstar in the future.
The talented teenager has already made three appearances for the Turkish national team, scoring his first international goal in a 3-2 victory over Germany in a friendly last minute.
Juventus manager Maximiliano Allegri has already said that Yildiz “will have a bright future in football” and based on his current rrajectory, appears set to go to the very top.
Now, it seems that Arsenal and Liverpool could battle for the youngster’s signature in January, but Juventus certainly won’t let him leave on the cheap.
Arsenal join Liverpool in race for Yildiz
As reported by TEAMtalk, Liverpool’s sporting director Jorg Schmadtke has urged Jurgen Klopp to sign Yildiz in January.
Schmadtke sees the Turkish star as someone who can play as a withdrawn forward, much like what Roberto Firmino used to do for the Reds.
He has had his eye on Yildiz since he was at Bayern Munich, and tried to sign him at former club Wolfsburg.
Yildiz can also play as a winger, which indicates that Liverpool may be weighing up the performances of current senior players like Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo
However, according to footballboast, Arsenal are also ‘interested’ in signing the Juventus attacker in January.
Yildiz has a contract until 2027 with the Italian and they are not keen on losing him anytime soon given his huge potential.
Juventus ‘would consider offers for the right price for Yildaz in January’, though, due to their poor financial situation.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if Arsenal or Liverpool do make a sizeable bid for Yildaz in January, as the report suggests.