Where should he play? The question remains open, and after the Turkish player’s two-goal performance against Cagliari, the coach delved deeper into it: where can the No. 10 perform at his best?

A majority plus one is needed to determine whether Yildiz should play more as a second striker or as a winger. Spalletti, who “used to hear all the opinions from the outside, but now I’m on the inside,” is trying to find a compromise by “doing a little of both.” He’s certainly formed his own opinion of the player, though the real challenge for the coach comes now: convincing the Turkish player to follow a game plan—perhaps more effectively than his predecessors Tudor and Thiago Motta did. It was Allegri who gave the 2005-born player his first-team debut, but at that time, the player was coming off a strong season with the Primavera (where he was primarily used as a striker) and a brief stint with Next Gen to gain experience among the senior players.

Yildiz’s first breakthrough at Juve came under Thiago Motta, who always asked the player to operate more as a winger on the left flank. The coach’s instructions focused mainly on two things: first, to cut inside and look for a right-footed shot from the corner of the opponent’s penalty area; second, to immediately press the opponent’s possession to disrupt their build-up play before it began. These two tasks—which required quick, clear thinking and a significant expenditure of energy—meant the forward couldn’t always sustain his performance for the full ninety minutes, often resulting in a lack of sharpness in front of goal. Thus, to better manage his stamina, Yildiz played slightly deeper—just enough to avoid consistently finding himself in trouble.

UNDER TUDOR—  Tudor’s arrival on the Juve bench gave the player a bit more freedom when not in possession. Under the Croatian’s management, Yildiz has had slightly fewer defensive responsibilities and has been encouraged to press more aggressively through the center, bringing him closer to the goal. Unlike Thiago Motta, who occasionally deployed the Turkish player on the right, Tudor has always started him on the left or asked him to stay as high up the field as possible, so he can link up with Vlahovic or another target man in the penalty area. Yildiz has maintained his tendency to move more freely and avoid being one-dimensional: it was precisely his ability to keep opposing defenses guessing that convinced Tudor not to restrict him too much within tactical schemes, but rather to let him operate from the attacking midfield area and move forward.

UNDER SPALLETTI—  Finding a player who was much more self-aware and already somewhat developed (no longer a raw talent to be molded), Spalletti immediately capitalized on his freedom of movement. “One moment he makes a run inside and you say he’s a second striker. Then you see him making a run toward the corner flag and you say he’s a winger. Then he comes back to the middle. Then? And then he goes wherever he pleases because he knows better than anyone where he can find space,” said the Juventus coach. “I put him as the left attacking midfielder, so he can adapt based on the situation. Obviously, if he stays inside, he’s closer to the goal; I’d prefer that from him because he’s good at turning on both his right and left feet. But there you find a lot of tight spaces compared to playing wider, where he beats his man and puts you in a position to score because it’s harder to do so from that far out.”

THE PERSPECTIVE—  Spalletti’s wish is for him to “play more centrally, because when he turns and faces the goal, it’s like bells ringing—even in practice.” But only time will clarify Yildiz’s role, which right now is much more important for Juventus in terms of goals—especially after Vlahovic’s injury and the inconsistent performances of David and Openda. The Turkish player could also become the key to unlocking the potential of the two new arrivals in the attack, but Spalletti needs certainty. Under Thiago Motta, in 42 games, Yildiz recorded 6 goals and 5 assists across league and cup competition. Under Tudor, however, the 2005-born player improved his personal stats with 8 goals and 8 assists in 22 matches. Meanwhile, under Spalletti—immediately after scoring against Udinese with Brambilla on the bench—the No. 10 has tallied 2 goals and 1 assist in 5 matches.