Samuel Iling-Junior

Samuel Iling-Junior (born 4 October 2003) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for Serie A club Juventus.

Samuel Iling-Junior
Iling-Junior with Juventus U19 in 2021
Personal information
Full name Samuel Iling-Junior[1]
Date of birth (2003-10-04) 4 October 2003
Place of birth Islington, England
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Winger
Club information
Current team
 Juventus
Number 43
Youth career
2011–2020 Chelsea
2020–2021 Juventus
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2022 Juventus Next Gen[lower-greek 1] 7 (3)
2022– Juventus 6 (0)
International career‡
2018 England U15 1 (0)
2018–2019 England U16 8 (0)
2019 England U17 5 (0)
2021–2022 England U19 7 (1)
2022– England U20 3 (0)
Honours
Men's football
Representing  England
UEFA European Under-19 Championship
Slovakia 2022
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:20, 7 February 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:55, 10 October 2022 (UTC)

A youth product of Chelsea and Juventus, Iling-Junior made his debut for reserve team Juventus U23 in the 2021–22 season, while also reaching the UEFA Youth League semi-finals with the U19 squad. In the following campaign, Iling-Junior started with Juventus Next Gen,[lower-greek 1] scoring four goals in seven matches, and then was promoted to the first team in December 2022, after making his debut both in Serie A and Champions League.

Iling-Junior has represented England at various youth international levels, having won a UEFA European Under-19 Championship in 2022.

Club career

Early career

Born in Islington,[4] London, Iling-Junior joined Chelsea academy in 2011 at the age of eight,[5][6] and spent nine years with the club.[7] He was promoted to the under-19s aged 16.[8] In 2020, he decided to leave Chelsea, rejecting an athletic scholarship deal,[9] attracting the interest from clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus; he signed a three-year contract with the latter in September of that year.[7][8]

2020–2022

On 7 October 2020, Iling-Junior was included in The Guardian's list of the 60 best talents in the world born in 2003.[10] On 2 April 2021, he was first called up by Juventus U23 alongside his U19 teammate Gabriele Mulazzi for a Serie C match against Alessandria.[11] He finished the 2020–21 season with four goals and seven assists in 28 matches for the under-19 team.[8]

On 22 August, he made his debut for Juventus U23 in a 3–2 win against Pro Sesto in the Coppa Italia Serie C.[12] His Serie C debut came on 3 October, replacing Nikola Sekulov in the second half against Mantova.[13] Iling-Junior was first called up to the first team on 21 May 2022, for a match against Fiorentina.[14]

In the 2021–22 season, he improved his stats, having played 36 matches and scored 13 goals.[8] Iling-Junior also helped the U19s reach the UEFA Youth League semifinals, their best-ever placing in the competition.[15]

2022–present

Iling-Junior scored his first professional goal on 3 September 2022, in the 13th minute in Trento–Juventus Next Gen,[lower-greek 1] their first season match.[16] He made his Serie A debut for the first team in a match against Empoli, on 21 October, coming on as a substitute for Filip Kostić in the 84th minute.[8]

On 25 October, Iling-Junior made his Champions League debut against Benfica, replacing Kostić in the 70th minute with Juventus trailing 4–1.[17] He assisted Arkadiusz Milik's 4–2 goal after six minutes, and provided a key pass for Weston McKennie's goal two minutes later.[17] Four days later, in an away match against Lecce, Iling-Junior assisted Nicolò Fagioli's winner after only 41 seconds from entering the pitch;[18] however, he suffered a right-ankle sprain after being fouled by Federico Di Francesco, ruling him out for 20 days.[19]

On 19 December, Juventus announced that Iling renewed his contract until 2025, being subsequently promoted to the first team.[20] He was promoted after scoring four goals in nine matches for Next Gen (two of which were during the previous season).[12]

International career

Iling-Junior was a member of the U17's 2019 Syrenka Cup winning squad.[21]

On 6 October 2021, he made his debut for the England U19s as a substitute during a 3–1 defeat to France in Marbella, Spain.[22] On 17 June 2022, Iling-Junior was included in the England U19 squad for the 2022 UEFA European Under-19 Championship,[23] which England won with a 3–1 extra time victory over Israel on 1 July.[24][25][26]

On 21 September 2022, he made his England U20 debut in a 3–0 win over Chile at the Pinatar Arena in Spain.[27]

Style of play

Iling-Junior mainly plays a winger, either on the left or right. His versatility allowed him to be deployed various areas of the pitch by Juventus U19 coach Andrea Bonatti, namely as a left-back, left or right forward, attacking midfielder or central midfielder.[8] His main qualities are his goalscoring, dribbling and running abilities.[8][28]

Personal life

Iling-Junior moved to Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic, which he found challenging.[6] He has become nearly fluent in Italian.[6] He trains privately with Saul Isaakson-Hurst, a former Chelsea and Tottenham academy coach.[6]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 7 February 2023[29]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Coppa Italia Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Juventus U23[lower-greek 1] 2021–22 Serie C 10——1[lower-alpha 1][12]020
Juventus Next Gen[lower-greek 1] 2022–23 Serie C 63——1[lower-alpha 1][12]174
Total 7300002194
Juventus 2022–23 Serie A 60101[lower-alpha 2] 0—80
Career total 133101021174
  1. Appearance in Coppa Italia Serie C
  2. Appearance in UEFA Champions League

    Honours

    England U19

    Notelist
    1. The team's name was changed from Juventus U23 to Juventus Next Gen in August 2022.[3]

    References
    Wikimedia Commons has media related to Samuel Iling-Junior.
    1. "Samuel Iling-Junior". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
    2. "Samuel Iling-Junior: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
    3. "From Under 23 to Next Gen – a new identity at Juventus". Juventus F.C. 26 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
    4. Kinsella, Nizaar (12 December 2022). "The next John Terry? Five starlets who could shine for England in 2026". Evening Standard. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
    5. Brewin, John (27 June 2022). "England youngsters reaping rewards of pathway at Under-19 Euros". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
    6. Kinsella, Nizaar (1 November 2022). "Chelsea tinged with regret as Samuel Iling-Junior rises to Juventus challenge". Evening Standard. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
    7. "Chi è Iling-Junior, l'esterno che la Juve ha pescato giovanissimo dal Chelsea". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 22 October 2022.
    8. Agresti, Romeo (26 October 2022). "Samuel Iling-Junior: l'ex Chelsea che ha esordito in Serie A con la Juventus". Goal.com. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
    9. "U19 | Alla scoperta di Iling: «Essere alla Juve è un sogno»". Juventus F.C. (in Italian). 11 February 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
    10. Christenson, Marcus; Powell, Jim; Blight, Garry. "Next Generation 2020: 60 of the best young talents in world football". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 24 April 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
    11. Baridon, Marco (3 April 2021). "Juve Primavera, Zauli pesca per la sua Under 23: in due alla prima chiamata". Juventus News 24 (in Italian). Retrieved 13 May 2022.
    12. For Coppa Italia Serie C stats not covered by Soccerway, see "Profile Player Samuel Iling-Junior". myjuve.it. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
    13. JuventusNews24, Redazione (3 October 2021). "Esordio Iling-Junior con la Juventus U23: prima presenza in Serie C". Juventus News 24 (in Italian). Retrieved 11 May 2022.
    14. JuventusNews24, Redazione (21 May 2022). "Convocati Juve per la Fiorentina, UFFICIALE: riecco McKennie. Sei assenti". Juventus News 24 (in Italian). Retrieved 21 May 2022.
    15. "Il Benfica in finale grazie ai calci di rigore. Non basta la gran rimonta della Juve". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 28 May 2022.
    16. "Juventus Next Gen, Iling Junior segna il primo gol della stagione". La Casa di C (in Italian). 3 September 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
    17. "Juventus Next Gen, esordio da sogno in Champions League per Iling Junior contro il Benfica". La Casa di C (in Italian). 25 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
    18. "Iling-Junior fa assist, Fagioli segna: i giovani alleviano la crisi della Juventus | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
    19. "Iling ko, la Juventus perde anche lui dopo il fallaccio di Di Francesco: il comunicato". tuttosport.com (in Italian). Retrieved 31 October 2022.
    20. "Samuel Iling-Junior renews until 2025! – Juventus". Juventus F.C. 19 December 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
    21. "YOUNG LIONS LIFT THE SYRENKA CUP WITH A PENALTY SHOOTOUT WIN OVER HOSTS POLAND". England Football. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    22. "Young Lions suffer defeat in their first of three internationals in Spain". England Football. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
    23. Smith, Frank (17 June 2022). "Ian Foster has picked his 21-strong squad for this month's UEFA U19 EURO Finals in Slovakia". EnglandFootball.com. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
    24. Honeyman, Sam (1 July 2022). "Israel 1–3 England (aet): Chukwuemeka and Ramsey the extra-time heroes as Young Lions fight back". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
    25. Veevers, Nicholas (1 July 2022). "England win U19 EURO title after 3–1 win against Israel". EnglandFootball.com. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
    26. "Europei U19, trionfa l'Inghilterra: Israele si arrende nei supplementari". tuttosport.com (in Italian). Retrieved 22 October 2022.
    27. Crane, Liam (21 September 2022). "Report: England MU20s 3–0 Chile". EnglandFootball.com. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
    28. "ILING JUNIOR, L'ESORDIENTE CHE HA AFFASCINATO ALLEGRI". Alfredo Pedullà (in Italian). 22 October 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
    29. Samuel Iling-Junior at Soccerway. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
    30. JuventusNews24, Redazione (2 July 2022). "Iling campione d'Europa! Il bianconero trionfa con la sua Inghilterra". Juventus News 24 (in Italian). Retrieved 2 July 2022.
    • Profile at the Juventus F.C. website
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