Samuel Iling-Junior (born 4 October 2003) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger or wing-back for Premier League club Aston Villa.
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,[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 and Champions League.
Iling-Junior has represented England at various youth international levels, having won a UEFA European Under-19 Championship in 2022 and UEFA European Under-21 Championship in 2025.
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Born in Islington,[4] London, to Congolese parents, Iling-Junior joined Chelsea academy in 2011 at the age of eight,[5][6] and spent nine years with the club.[7] He attended secondary school at St Aloysius' College, Highgate.[8] He was promoted to the under-19s aged 16.[9] In 2020, he decided to leave Chelsea, rejecting an athletic scholarship deal,[10] attracting 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][9]
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On 7 October 2020, Iling-Junior was included in The 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 by Juventus U23 alongside his U19 teammate Gabriele Mulazzi for a Serie C match against Alessandria.[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 against Pro Sesto in the Coppa Italia Serie C.[13] His Serie C debut came on 3 October, replacing Nikola Sekulov in the second half against Mantova.[14] Iling-Junior was first called up to the first team on 21 May 2022, for a match against Fiorentina.[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 the UEFA 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 in Trento–Juventus Next Gen,[α] their first season match.[17] 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.[9]
On 25 October, Iling-Junior made his Champions League debut against Benfica, replacing Kostić in the 70th minute with Juventus trailing 4–1.[18] He assisted Arkadiusz Milik's 4–2 goal after six minutes, and provided a key pass for Weston McKennie's goal two minutes later.[18] Four days later, in an away match against Lecce, Iling-Junior assisted Nicolò Fagioli's winner after only 41 seconds from entering the pitch;[19] however, he suffered a right-ankle sprain after being fouled by Federico 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 the Coppa Italia.[22]
On 2 March 2023, Iling-Junior started the first leg of the final of the Coppa Italia Serie C with Juventus Next Gen and scored a 47th-minute equaliser against Vicenza, 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 over Atalanta.[27][28]
On 7 January 2024, Iling-Junior scored his first and only goal of the 2023–24 season in a 2–1 away league win over Salernitana.[29]
On 1 July 2024, Iling-Junior signed for Premier League club Aston Villa on a permanent deal, as part of a double-transfer from Juventus, alongside Enzo 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 of Douglas Luiz to Juventus, despite being a separate transaction.[30][33]
On 27 August 2024, Iling-Junior joined Serie A club Bologna on a season-long loan.[34][35] On 21 January 2025, he scored his first Champions League goal in a 2–1 victory over Borussia 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 to EFL Championship club Middlesbrough until the end of the season.[37][38]
Born in England, Iling-Junior is of DR Congolese descent.[39] He was a member of the England U17s' 2019 Syrenka Cup-winning squad.[40]
On 6 October 2021, Iling-Junior made his debut for the England U19s as a substitute during a 3–1 defeat to France in Marbella, Spain.[41] He was included in the England U19 squad for the 2022 UEFA European Under-19 Championship and played in their opening group stage game against Austria.[42][43] Iling-Junior was an unused substitute in the final which England won with a 3–1 extra-time victory over Israel on 1 July.[44][45][46]
On 21 September 2022, Iling-Junior made his England U20 debut in a 3–0 win over Chile at the Pinatar Arena in Spain.[47] On 24 March 2023, he scored a brace in England U20's 2–0 win over Germany U20.[48] Iling-Junior was unable to attend the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup due to club commitments.[49]
On 11 September 2023, Iling-Junior made his England U21 debut in a 3–0 win away to Luxembourg in a 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying match.[50] In March 2024 he scored two goals in a qualifier against Luxembourg at Toughsheet Community Stadium.[51] Iling-Junior was included in their squad for the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship and made an appearance off the bench as a substitute during extra time in the final as England defeated Germany 3–2 to win the tournament.[52]
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.[9] His main qualities are his goalscoring, dribbling and running abilities.[9][53]
Iling-Junior moved to Italy during the COVID-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 | |
| Bologna (loan) | 2024–25 | Serie A | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 8[d] | 1 | — | 16 | 2 | ||
| Middlesbrough (loan) | 2024–25 | Championship | 16 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 16 | 1 | ||||
| Career total | 68 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 90 | 10 | ||
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