Kerim Alajbegović Scout Report At Juventus 2026/2027: Can Luciano Spalletti Tactics Unlock The Old Lady's New Wonderkid? – Player Analysis

Kerim Alajbegović has had quite the year.

The 18-year-old made his senior debut just over a year ago in a UEFA Champions League qualifier.

He spent last season at Red Bull Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga.

One month later, he made his senior debut for Bosnia & Herzegovina, scoring against Austria.

One year on, he has played 44 senior games for Salzburg, scoring 13 goals.

He has played in a FIFA World Cup for his country, scoring a goal and earning Man of the Match in a 3-1 win over Qatar that confirmed Bosnia & Herzegovina's first-ever participation in the World Cup knockout stage.

The Germany-born Bosnia & Herzegovina international grew up in Cologne and spent time at their academy before joining nearby Bayer Leverkusen in 2021.

He's famous in scouting and Football Manager circles as a wonderkid.

The rumour mill with Alajbegović has been spinning all summer.

It looked as if he was destined to join Chelsea (or, more likely, RC Strasbourg).

Yet, almost out of nowhere, Juventus have swooped in and agreed a deal to bring him to Turin and Serie A.

The Italian giants currently have one Germany-born star on their books (although Kenan Yıldız plays for Türkiye) and Luciano Spalletti's fluid attacking system caught eyes last season, even if they fell short of Champions League football.

This Kerim Alajbegović scout report and player analysis will look at how Alajbegović will fit in alongside Yıldız and others in an extremely fluid system, using his season at Salzburg to assess what he'll bring and where he can improve.

Kerim Alajbegović Positioning

Before going into Alajbegović's positioning, we need to look at the environment he was operating in.

Salzburg finished third in last season's Bundesliga, ending up 10 points behind winner LASK (despite finishing one point behind them in the 'regular' season; the Austrian Bundesliga splits into a Championship and Relegation group after 22 games).

They had two managers during the 2025/2026 campaign: Thomas Letsch until February, then Daniel Beichler.

It's well documented how Red Bull teams play.

It's high-energy football with an emphasis on transitional football and pressing, using a mix of 4-2-3-1, 4-2-2-2 and 4-3-3 formations.

This Salzburg team was no different.

The young Bosnian predominantly plays off the left-hand side of the attack, with 21 of his games (out of the 30 Transfermarkt has information for) coming as a left-winger.

He played seven games from the right and through the middle as an attacking midfielder.

Kerim Alajbegović Heat Map 2025/2026

As we can see from his 2025/2026 season heat map, he likes to be on that left-hand side and come inside onto his (only slightly) stronger right foot.

Alajbegović also started three out of his country's four games at this summer's World Cup.

Against Switzerland and Qatar, he played as the left midfielder in a 4-4-2.

In the Round of 32 game against hosts USA, he tucked slightly inside as Bosnia switched to a back five, playing in a midfield three.

He offers positional flexibility, which will be key to Spalletti's system, due to his two-footedness.

Kerim Alajbegović Attacking Force

Alajbegović is a highly technical player with (as mentioned) the ability to play across the forward line.

When watching him, the thing that stands out most is his close control.

His ability to manipulate the ball in exactly the way he wants means you'll see him easily beat players in tight spaces.

One of the best examples of this came against Aston Villa in the Europa League last season.

Alajbegović picks the ball up just inside the Villa box, with several defenders in his way.

He is immediately faced with pressure, and moves the ball onto his right foot.

He drives towards the byline, able to evade an attempted tackle by the long legs of Amadou Onana by keeping the ball close to his foot and shifting it slightly wider.