Italian publication Tuttosport has released its initial list of 100 candidates for the 2020 Golden Boy award, which honours the best under-21 player in Europe each year.
Previous winners of the prestigious award include Rafael van der Vaart (in its inaugural year in 2003), Wayne Rooney (2004), Lionel Messi (2005), Raheem Sterling (2014) and Kylian Mbappe (2017), while last year the prize was given to Joao Felix of Atletico Madrid.
Run by Tuttosport, a preliminary list of 100 talented young stars in one of Europe’s top tiers is whittled down to a shortlist of 20 by public vote, before a panel of 40 journalists from a range of countries and publications select the overall winner.
Among those on this year’s 100 are Dortmund’s Erling Haaland, – who Tuttosport describe as a frontrunner – as well as his teammate Jadon Sancho, Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies, Barcelona’s Ansu Fati and Real Madrid duo Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes.
Including Sancho, there are 15 Englishmen on this year’s list with the others being: Max Aarons (Norwich), Tino Anjorin (Chelsea), Trae Coyle (Arsenal), Karamoko Dembele (Celtic), Phil Foden (Man City), James Garner (Man Utd), Morgan Gibbs-White (Wolves), Angel Gomes (Man Utd), Mason Greenwood (Man Utd), Callum Hudson-Odoi (Chelsea), Curtis Jones (Liverpool), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ryan Sessegnon (Tottenham), Oliver Skipp (Tottenham).
Chelsea’s Scottish midfielder Billy Gilmour also made the cut, as did his Blues’ teammate Ethan Ampadu (on loan at RB Leipzig this season) and Southampton’s Ireland international Michael Obafemi.
With 17 goals and 16 assists in the Bundesliga this season, Sancho is perhaps best-placed to challenge Haaland for the top honour, while Rennes’ Real Madrid target Eduardo Camavinga and Valencia’s Ferran Torres are also likely to make the final 20.
See Tuttosport’s website for the full list and to cast your vote.
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