Samuel Iling-Junior, whose sale to Juventus was agreed to for €14 million plus possible add-ins of €3 million, has inked a long-term deal with Aston Villa.
After completing his €8 million transfer from the Italian powerhouses, Enzo Barrenechea has also been announced as a new Villa player. Earlier this week, Douglas Luiz signed a five-year contract with Juventus following the Brazilian’s €50 million acquisition. Barrenechea and Iling-Junior both fit into a big portion of Villa’s recruitment strategy, which is to sign younger players who have room to develop under one of the best coaches in European football—Unai Emery.
Iling-Junior made 24 appearances for Juventus in the previous campaign, starting in 20 of the team’s final 24 league games as the Old Lady advanced to the Champions League with a third-place finish. He and Barrenechea both participated in the entire ninety minutes of Juventus’ 1-0 victory over Atalanta in the Coppa Italia final.
When the 16-year-old left-sided player decided to leave Chelsea and the Premier League in 2020, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, and Paris Saint-Germain were among the teams interested in signing him. Iling-Junior, who chose Juve, made his first-team debut last season and became just the third English player to score for the Italian powerhouse in Serie A.
Iling-Junior told England football, “Players like Fikayo Tomori and Tammy Abraham, who had made similar moves from Chelsea to Italy, contacted me after the move to make sure I was doing well.” “Tammy actually bought me a burger after a game when I was about 10 or 11 years old. I obviously knew them through Chelsea when I was in the academy!
“It was definitely easier to make the choice after watching other English athletes achieve success overseas. It was merely a matter of demonstrating your fearlessness and confidence in your capacity to travel overseas and still succeed.”
In September, he made his England Under-21 debut. In March, he played in the same lineup as Morgan Rogers, making impressive triumphs over Luxembourg and Azerbaijan. The 20-year-old scored two goals from left-back against Luxembourg after playing as a left winger in the team’s victory over Azerbaijan.
Because of his versatility, Max Allegri used him as a wingback last season, and he can play a variety of positions with ease.
Iling-Junior went on, “Growing up, I would play every position.” “Being the tallest, I began my career as a center-half, but when I was around the edge of the box, I would always score long-range goals. Thus, it shifted and went to the more attacking positions at the age of eleven or twelve. I moved to left back, then center midfield, and finally to the wing, where I played as a striker and a number ten.
“At the moment, I usually play in the front four, and I’d say that playing at number ten or on the wing is probably my best position. From then until now, my top priority has always been to have fun with football. That is the first thought that comes to me.”
Iling-Junior, who was elevated to the first team the previous season, made his Champions League debut against Benfica and, just five minutes after coming on, set up an exquisite cross for a volley by Arkadiusz Milik. Weston McKennie scored after he sent in another cross that created mayhem in the penalty area.
Iling-Junior has maintained contact with Saul Isaksson-Hurst, the former coach of Chelsea’s under-10 team, in order to conduct additional private training sessions through his My Football Coach enterprise. Moreover, Isaksson-Hurst has Noni Madueke.
Through his My Football Coach company, Iling-Junior has maintained contact with Saul Isaksson-Hurst, his former Chelsea under-10s coach, in order to conduct additional private training sessions. Isaksson-Hurst’sclientelealso includes Noni Madueke and Folarin Balogun.
A year after joining Juventus, Iling-Junior had a conversation with Isaksson-Hurst. “He expressed his desire to work more during his summer vacation in England,” the coach told the Guardian. Since everything worked out so well, we get some work done before he returns each off-season.
“I recall that he made a major decision to join Juventus because he believed there would be more opportunities for him. Going abroad alone takes a lot of bravery, but Samuel is a really nice young man with a good family, manners, and no ego. It’s good to see him benefiting from it.
He loves the culture and speaks Italian because he has fully embraced it. Sam always puts in a lot of effort and is eager to learn, but he has had to wait patiently for his chance this season.
Iling-Junior has a powerful physical presence on the wing and is unpredictable in the last third. He presents a challenge to most defenders because of his strength and agility.
Talking about his adjustment He said to the Telegraph that he had spent the last few years in Italy: “To be honest, I feel like it’s been difficult. It’s not how I anticipated the trajectory to proceed. However, looking back, it has also assisted me in realizing and taking a step back. “All right, where can I use this?”
“It can go either way. I have two options: either I stay upbeat and train at a certain level or I try to raise it to try to see if I can get more minutes.”
Due to violations of club licensing and financial fair play, Juventus was banned from European competitions by UEFA for a year during the previous season. Iling-Junior told The Athletic that he is incredibly eager to experience Champions League football again, saying, “It made
