Kenan Yildiz to Arsenal: Why Juventus transfer is 'possible' in January

The Juventus winger has now been named alongside Real Madrid and Bayern Munich as a target for next year's business. Here is what the Football Whispers Index makes of the rumour heading into the window.

The Football Whispers Index scores every transfer rumour across five weighted factors. Football Whispers Index: Transfer predictor Kenan Yildiz to Arsenal 52/100 TPI Possible Juventus manager Luciano Spalletti said in August that Arsenal "can offer whatever they like" but his club will not be selling Yildiz, and there is no sign of that stance softening before January.

The Index weighs five things: whether the buying club can afford the deal, whether it actually needs the player, whether the player wants the move, whether the selling club has any reason to let him go, and how strongly the reporting behind the story stands up. Arsenal's resources and Yildiz's age profile both work in this rumour's favour.

The single fact holding the score back is Juventus manager Luciano Spalletti's own public line in August, that Arsenal "can offer whatever they like" but his club will not be selling. Financial viability Financial viability 18 / 25 Yildiz signed a new Juventus contract on 7 February 2026, tying him to the club until 30 June 2030.

He earns a fixed €11.1m a year, the highest basic salary on Juventus's books for 2026/27. Transfermarkt value him at €75m, while Italian outlet TuttoJuve reported on 4 October that Juventus would want more than €100m before considering a sale.

Arsenal's annual revenue of €821.7m is among the highest in English football, though any fee would still need to clear the Premier League's Squad Cost Ratio rules. Money is the part of this deal that should look after itself, whatever Juventus eventually ask for.

A contract signed as recently as February matters here, because clubs rarely let a player go only nine months after new terms unless a specific price has already been discussed. His €11.1m salary also sets a rough floor for what Arsenal would have to offer, given players moving clubs at this level rarely take a pay cut.

Revenue that size does not automatically translate into transfer funds once wages and Squad Cost Ratio limits are factored in, but it still leaves Arsenal in a stronger position than most clubs chasing a fee of this size. Even so, the obstacle here was never really going to be Arsenal's ability to pay, it was always going to be Juventus's willingness to talk at all.

Buying club need Buying club need 14 / 20 Arsenal signed Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge in the summer of 2026 and handed him a contract to June 2031 for the same left-wing role Yildiz plays. Tzolis has started slowly in England, managing 0 goals and 1 assist in 449 Premier League minutes so far in 2026/27.