Jérémie Boga has used his first proper sit-down interview since his move to Juventus was made permanent to send a clear message: the hard part starts now. Speaking to Tuttosport, the Ivorian winger was candid about a mid-season arrival that gave him almost no time to settle, and about a mentality that refuses to treat the confirmation of his transfer as any kind of finishing line.
A Permanent Deal That Boga Refuses to Treat as a Destination
Boga’s switch to Turin was completed during the January transfer window — a period notoriously unkind to new arrivals, who are expected to hit the ground running with barely any time to adapt to a new dressing room, a new city, and a new tactical framework. Boga did not shy away from that reality, describing the adjustment as immediate and, at times, disorientating.
What stands out from the interview, though, is what came next. Rather than treating this summer’s permanent switch as validation, Boga was blunt: “the buy-out is not a finishing point.” In his view, the shirt still has to be earned, day by day, rather than one that now belongs to him by right.
It is the kind of statement that tends to play well in Turin, where a squad already packed with attacking talent leaves little room for complacency.
Getting to Grips With Spalletti’s Demands
Boga also used the interview to reflect on his evolving relationship with the coaching staff. Having joined mid-season, he had almost no pre-season period to build an understanding with his manager — something he has clearly been working to make up for since the summer. He explained that the extra time on the training pitch has sharpened his read on what the coach “asks of me and what he expects.” Starting this campaign alongside Spalletti from day one, he added, is a genuine advantage compared to the disrupted introduction he had in January.
Yıldız: Competitor on the Pitch, Ally Off It
Inevitably, the conversation turned to Kenan Yıldız — the club’s brightest attacking talent and, on paper, Boga’s most direct rival for minutes in the final third. Boga did not dodge the comparison, calling him “a competitor, but there is feeling between us.” On the pitch the two compete for the same shirt; off it, by his own account, the relationship is a good one — and that chemistry, he suggested, is part of what makes the competition healthy rather than corrosive.
For a Juventus side searching for strength in depth across the front line, having two attacking options who push each other without the atmosphere turning toxic is close to the ideal outcome.
