Tuttosport: ‘Watch out for the other No.10’ – Yildiz ready to challenge Leao

The build-up to AC Milan versus Juventus is in full flow, and a newspaper has questioned the perceived market values of Rafael Leao and Kenan Yildiz.

Today’s edition of Tuttosport (via MilanNews) talks about the battle within the battle tomorrow night involving Leao and Yildiz. After winning his personal challenge against the other No.10 of the city, Lautaro Martinez, in the 4-4 draw against Inter on October 27, the Turkey international wants to leave his mark again.

Despite the six-year difference in age, the Turin-based paper suggests that there is not much of a gap between Leao and Yildiz. This is also because in the end the Portuguese has not (yet) made that definitive leap to being a consistently elite player after his 2021-22 MVP Scudetto season.

For many, however, Leao is the established one and Yilidz the rising star. The former Lille man is valued at €80m on Transfermarkt, while the Juve man is at €40m. This is why Milan must pay attention to his quality, because the underlying numbers show his importance.

Yildiz makes an average of almost 23 passes per game against Leao’s 19, with clearly superior precision (88% against 79%). The same goes for the non-possession phase, with the Bianconeri starlet making more than three times as many tackles per game (2.1 against 0.6) and recovering almost double the balls (3.2 against 1.9).

Leao compensates for his lesser presence in the game with a greater incisiveness in his ideas, with 2.4 successful dribbles per game and a percentage of 67% (+13% compared to Yildiz who tries 1.6 per game). This superiority is reflected in one more assist, one more big chance created and above all in 4.3 expected goals against Yildiz’s 1.3.