Justin Oboavwoduo: Who Is the Young Juventus Forward Who Sealed the Victory Against Nice?

Juventus’s second consecutive friendly win: Following last Saturday’s narrow win over Standard Liège, the Bianconeri defeated Ligue 1 side Nice 2-0, with goals from Douglas Luiz in the 11th minute and Justin Oboavwoduo in the 89th minute: The 19-year-old Englishman of Nigerian descent scored a true striker’s goal; after receiving a deep pass from Adzic, he found himself one-on-one with Boulhendi and coolly finished the chance.

Oboavwoduo’s name might not ring a bell for most people since he hasn’t made any first-team appearances, but the young player is an emerging talent on whom the Bianconeri have been placing great hopes ever since his signing during last season’s winter transfer window. It was, incidentally, a deal with a unique structure: the transfer was free, but Juve may pay Manchester City up to 3 million euros in the future, depending on his performance.

Since his arrival in Turin, after completing his long journey through Manchester City’s youth system, Oboavwoduo has played a total of 12 matches with Juventus Next Gen, 8 of which came during the regular season of last year’s Serie C campaign. His only official goal came on April 22, in the 2-2 draw against Bra: on an assist from Javier Gil, Oboavwoduo scored the temporary 2-0 goal in the 24th minute with his left foot.

Looking back at his long stint with Manchester City, Justin Oboavwoduo made a name for himself in the Premier League Under-18 and Premier League 2, the reserve league: He recorded a total of 17 goals and 5 assists in the former, which he won twice, and 13 goals and 7 assists in the latter. He also scored 7 goals in 8 appearances in the FA Youth Cup (won in 2023–2024) and 4 goals in 21 appearances in the Youth League, Europe’s top youth competition.

His current market value stands at around 500,000 euros, but his goal against Nice could change the young English player’s summer: his immediate future still looks set at Juventus, with Luciano Spalletti potentially letting him develop in the Next Gen program, though interest from other clubs seeking a forward already accustomed to competing at a high level cannot be ruled out.