Samuel Iling-Junior has mastered many words in Italian since he joined Juventus from Chelsea’s academy in 2020, although one has been particularly useful: pazienza (patience). Having made his first-team breakthrough last season when he followed in the footsteps of Johnny Jordan and David Platt, becoming the third English player to score in Serie A for the Old Lady, the 20-year-old has yet to start a league match this campaign.
Even a blistering performance against Salernitana on Sunday, when the forward, who cut his teeth for Clissold Park Rangers in Stoke Newington, came off the bench and found the net in a 2-1 victory may not be enough to convince Massimiliano Allegri that Iling-Junior is worth a starting spot. Juventus are reported to be willing to sell him this month for around €30m (£25.8m), with Aston Villa, Brighton and Tottenham among the Premier League clubs rumoured to be interested in bringing him back to the UK.
But Saul Isaksson-Hurst – who first met Iling-Junior when he was coaching Chelsea’s Under-10s and has been privately training him for the past three years through his My Football Coach business – believes he should be proud of his achievements in Italy and that the best is yet to come. “I don’t think there is a ceiling to his potential,” he says. “I was hoping he might have been given more chances this season but he has become a first-team regular at Juve and is there or thereabouts.
“Any young player wants to be playing as much as possible but I don’t think he will be too disappointed with how it has gone. He loves the club and the city and is happy there. But the transfer window is open and you never know what could happen because everything can change with one phone call.”
Iling-Junior, who made his England Under-21 debut in September, got in touch with Isaksson-Hurst a year after he had joined Juventus, having rejected approaches from Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund. “He said he wanted to do some extra work when he was back in England for the summer. It went really well so every off season we get some work in before he goes back in.
“I remember when he went over to Juventus it was a big decision but he thought he would get more opportunities. It’s very brave to go overseas on your own but Samuel’s a really nice young man – very polite, a good family and no ego. So it’s nice to see him reaping the benefits.
“He’s immersed himself in the culture – he speaks Italian and he loves the culture. Sam has had to be patient this season for his opportunity but he always works hard and is ready to learn.”
After the introduction of new rules following Italy’s failure to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 60 years in 2018 that permitted clubs to enter an Under-23 team in Serie C, Iling-Junior played alongside Stephy Mavididi – the former Arsenal academy player who is now at Leicester – in a side that was later known as the Juventus Next Generation. He was promoted to the first-team squad in December 2022 after making his Champions League debut against Benfica and provided a brilliant cross for an Arkadiusz Milik volley in a 4-3 defeat that was especially pleasing for Isaksson-Hurst.
“I have some nice clips of stuff we were working on in training a few weeks earlier and it was good to see him doing exactly the sort of things in such a big game,” he says. “We’ve been working on getting him on the ball and being able to dominate his opponent. And then obviously end product, which in his position is forward passes, shots and crosses. It’s mainly final third play and working on how to be efficient and effective in front of goal.
“He’s got the technique of a street player but also the physicality to match. It’s the perfect combination of the two and he’s a very intelligent player as well.”
Iling-Junior’s versatility has led to him being deployed as a wing-back by Allegri and he is comfortable playing a number of positions. Isaksson-Hurst believes that can only be an advantage. “Samuel is unique because he is so technical and can use both feet so he could probably play anywhere,” he says. “He’s got everything.
“Football is about opportunity as well so now he has to try and make it happen. He’s also got the mentality to succeed. Even now I speak to him and he’s not getting carried away with things. He is still that same boy from Highbury who had a very humble upbringing.”
Isaksson-Hurst also counts Chelsea’s Noni Madueke – formerly of PSV Eindhoven – and Folarin Balogun, who joined Monaco from Arsenal last summer, among his clients and is full of praise for their decisions to move overseas at such tender ages. “You’ve got to be brave and courageous to create your opportunities and that’s what Samuel has done,” he says. “It’s great to see so many young English players abroad who are thriving.”
