.jpg) Iling-Junior withMiddlesbrough in 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Samuel Iling-Junior[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (2003-10-04)4 October 2003 (age 22) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Islington, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Pisa (on loan fromAston Villa) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 19 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2020 | Chelsea | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Juventus | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2023 | Juventus Next Gen[α] | 9 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2024 | Juventus | 36 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Aston Villa | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | →Bologna (loan) | 7 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | →Middlesbrough (loan) | 16 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025–2026 | →West Bromwich Albion (loan) | 24 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2026– | →Pisa (loan) | 1 | (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) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | England U20 | 6 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023–2025 | England U21 | 16 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:39, 13 February 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 19:18, 29 June 2025 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Samuel Iling-Junior (born 4 October 2003) is an English professionalfootballer who plays as awinger orwing-back forSerie A clubPisa, on loan fromPremier League clubAston Villa.
A youth product ofChelsea andJuventus, Iling-Junior made his debut forreserve teamJuventus U23 in the2021–22 season, while also reaching theUEFA Youth League semi-finals with the U19 squad. Inthe following campaign, Iling-Junior started with Juventus Next Gen,[α] 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 andChampions League.
Iling-Junior has represented England at various youth international levels, having won aUEFA European Under-19 Championship in2022 andUEFA European Under-21 Championship in2025.
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Born inIslington,[4] London, to Congolese parents, Iling-Junior joinedChelsea academy in 2011 at the age of eight,[5][6] and spent nine years with the club.[7] He attended secondary school atSt Aloysius' College, Highgate.[8] He was promoted to the under-19s aged 16.[9] In 2020, he decided to leave Chelsea, rejecting anathletic scholarship deal,[10] attracting interest from clubs such asParis Saint-Germain,Bayern Munich,Borussia Dortmund andJuventus; he signed a three-year contract with the latter in September of that year.[7][9]
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On 7 October 2020, Iling-Junior was included inThe Guardian's list of the 60 best young talents in the world born in 2003.[11] On 2 April 2021, he was first called up byJuventus U23 alongside his U19 teammateGabriele Mulazzi for aSerie C match againstAlessandria.[12] He finished the 2020–21 season with four goals and seven assists in 28 matches for the under-19 team.[9]
On 22 August, he made his debut for Juventus U23 in a 3–2 win againstPro Sesto in theCoppa Italia Serie C.[13] His Serie C debut came on 3 October, replacingNikola Sekulov in the second half againstMantova.[14] Iling-Junior was first called up to thefirst team on 21 May 2022, for a match againstFiorentina.[15]
In the 2021–22 season, he improved his stats, having played 36 matches and scored 13 goals.[9] Iling-Junior also helped the U19s reach theUEFA Youth League semifinals, their best-ever placing in the competition.[16]
Iling-Junior scored his first professional goal on 3 September 2022, in the 13th minute inTrento–Juventus Next Gen,[α] their first season match.[17] He made hisSerie A debut for the first team in a match againstEmpoli, on 21 October, coming on as a substitute forFilip Kostić in the 84th minute.[9]
On 25 October, Iling-Junior made hisChampions League debut againstBenfica, replacing Kostić in the 70th minute with Juventus trailing 4–1.[18] He assistedArkadiusz Milik's 4–2 goal after six minutes, and provided a key pass forWeston McKennie's goal two minutes later.[18] Four days later, in an away match againstLecce, Iling-Junior assistedNicolò Fagioli's winner after only 41 seconds from entering the pitch;[19] however, he suffered aright-ankle sprain after beingfouled byFederico Di Francesco, ruling him out for 20 days.[20]
On 19 December, Juventus announced that Iling-Junior renewed his contract until 2025, being subsequently promoted to the first team.[21] He was promoted after scoring four goals in nine matches for Next Gen (two of which were during the previous season).[13] He made his first-minute debut with the first team on the 19th of the following month, in Juventus–Monza, in theCoppa Italia.[22]
On 2 March 2023, Iling-Junior started the first leg of the final of theCoppa Italia Serie C with Juventus Next Gen and scored a 47th-minute equaliser againstVicenza, against whom they lost 2–1.[23][24] On 11 April, he also played the second leg, in which he kicked a penalty he had won over the post at the 90th minute; they lost 3–2 (5–3 on aggregate).[25][26] On 7 May, he made his first start in Serie A and scored his first goal with Juventus' first team, netting the opener in a 2–0 away win overAtalanta.[27][28]
On 7 January 2024, Iling-Junior scored his first and only goal of the2023–24 season in a 2–1 awayleague win overSalernitana.[29]
On 1 July 2024, Iling-Junior signed forPremier League clubAston Villa on a permanent deal, as part of a double-transfer from Juventus, alongsideEnzo Barrenechea.[30][31][32] The deal commanded a€14 million fee, plus €3 million in add-ons,[30][32] and was related to the transfer ofDouglas Luiz to Juventus, despite being a separate transaction.[30][33]
On 27 August 2024, Iling-Junior joined Serie A clubBologna on a season-long loan.[34][35] On 21 January 2025, he scored his firstChampions League goal in a 2–1 victory overBorussia Dortmund, marking his club's maiden victory in the competition.[36]
On 3 February 2025, Aston Villa recalled Illing-Junior from his Bologna loan and sent him out on loan toEFL Championship clubMiddlesbrough until the end of the season.[37][38]
On 1 September 2025, Illing-Junior joinedWest Bromwich Albion on a season-long loan.[39]
On 2 February 2026, Aston Villa recalled Illing-Junior from West Brom, and he signed withPisa until the end of the season.[40]
Born in England, Iling-Junior is of DR Congolese descent.[41] He was a member of theEngland U17s' 2019 Syrenka Cup-winning squad.[42]
On 6 October 2021, Iling-Junior made his debut for theEngland U19s as a substitute during a 3–1 defeat toFrance inMarbella, Spain.[43] He was included in the England U19 squad for the2022 UEFA European Under-19 Championship and played in their opening group stage game againstAustria.[44][45] Iling-Junior was an unused substitute in the final which England won with a 3–1 extra-time victory overIsrael on 1 July.[46][47][48]
On 21 September 2022, Iling-Junior made hisEngland U20 debut in a 3–0 win overChile at thePinatar Arena in Spain.[49] On 24 March 2023, he scored a brace in England U20's 2–0 win overGermany U20.[50] Iling-Junior was unable to attend the2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup due to club commitments.[51]
On 11 September 2023, Iling-Junior made hisEngland U21 debut in a 3–0 win away toLuxembourg in a2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying match.[52] In March 2024 he scored two goals in a qualifier against Luxembourg atToughsheet Community Stadium.[53] Iling-Junior was included in their squad for the2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship and made an appearance off the bench as a substitute during extra time in thefinal as England defeatedGermany 3–2 to win the tournament.[54]
Iling-Junior mainly plays awinger, either on the left or right. His versatility allowed him to be deployed various areas of the pitch by Juventus U19 coachAndrea Bonatti, namely as aleft-back, left or rightforward,attacking midfielder orcentral midfielder.[9] His main qualities are his goalscoring, dribbling and running abilities.[9][55]
Iling-Junior moved to Italy during theCOVID-19 pandemic, which he found challenging.[6] He has since become nearly fluent in Italian.[6]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Juventus U23[α] | 2021–22 | Serie C | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1[b][13] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||
| Juventus Next Gen[α] | 2022–23 | Serie C | 8 | 3 | — | — | — | 3[b][13] | 2 | 11 | 5 | |||
| Total | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 5 | ||
| Juventus | 2022–23 | Serie A | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 5[c] | 0 | — | 18 | 1 | ||
| 2023–24 | Serie A | 24 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 27 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 36 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 2 | ||
| Aston Villa | 2024–25 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2025–26 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Bologna (loan) | 2024–25 | Serie A | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 8[d] | 1 | — | 16 | 2 | ||
| Middlesbrough (loan) | 2024–25 | Championship | 16 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 16 | 1 | ||||
| West Bromwich Albion (loan) | 2025–26 | Championship | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 24 | 1 | |||
| Pisa (loan) | 2025–26 | Serie A | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 93 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 115 | 11 | ||
Juventus Next Gen
Juventus
England U19
England U21
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