Arsenal and England midfielder Myles Lewis-Skelly don land for di 25-man shortlist for dis year Golden Boy award. Di 20-year-old na one of eight Premier League players wey dey contention for di prize. Italian publication Tuttosport dey present di award, and dem dey give am to di best U21 men’s player for Europe.
Bournemouth and Brighton both get two players among di finalists, and dat one make up half of di Premier League contingent. Eli Junior Kroupi and Rayan dey contention for Bournemouth, while Brighton get Luka Vuskovic and Charalampos Kostoulas. Chelsea also get two shortlisted players in Estevao Willian and Jorrel Hato, while Manchester City summer-signing Ayyoub Bouaddi na di other Premier League star on di list.
Lamine Yamal, di odds-on favourite for dis year Ballon d'Or, no dey di list because he don already win di award before. But im Spain and Barcelona team-mate, Pau Cubarsi, wey dem name best young player at di summer World Cup, dey among di strongest contenders. Barcelona get three players shortlisted, more than any other club, with Marc Bernal and Xavi Espart also included. Real Madrid get two players in di mix with Yan Diomande and Endrick, while Paris Saint-Germain Warren Zaire-Emery and Bayern Munich Lennart Karl also make di cut.
Di battle for di European Golden Boy award for 2026 don heat up after today reveal of di final 25 players under age 21, whittled down from initial list of 50 talents. Di biggest shock na di absence of Barcelona star Lamine Yamal. Italian newspaper Tuttosport launch di award for 2003, handing am to di best player under 21 in European competition. E remain one of di most prestigious individual honours charting di rise of di continent young talents.
Di final list include Charalampos Kostoulas of Greece and Brighton, Rodrigo Mora of Portugal and Roma, Guéla Doué, Joan Garcia, Joshua Gado of France and Borussia Dortmund, Xavi Espart of Spain and Barcelona, Franco Mastantuono of Argentina and Fiorentina, Finn Jeltsch of Germany and Stuttgart, Kerim Alajbegovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Juventus. Said El Mala of Germany and Cologne, Marc Bernal of Spain and Barcelona, Jon Martin of Spain and Real Sociedad, Konstantinos Karetsas of Greece and Borussia Dortmund, Endrick of Brazil and Real Madrid, Gianluca Prestianni of Argentina and Benfica, Estevao of Brazil and Chelsea, Junior Kroupi of France and Bournemouth, Lennart Karl of Germany and Bayern Munich. Myles Lewis-Skelly of England and Arsenal, Jorrel Hato of Netherlands and Chelsea, Victor Froholdt of Denmark and Porto, Rayan of Brazil and Bournemouth, Luka Vuskovic of Croatia and Brighton, Ayoub Bouaddi of Morocco and Manchester City, Yan Diomande of Ivory Coast and Real Madrid, Pau Cubarsi of Spain and Barcelona, and Warren Zaire-Emery of France and Paris Saint-Germain.
Yamal omission from di 25 nominees stun many, given say im standing as one of di most prominent talents for world football. Di rules of di Golden Boy award explain di Barcelona star exclusion. No player can win am more than once, and Yamal na di winner back in 2024. Dat ruling automatically take am out of di 2026 race, even as he keep battling for di top of di global stage of young talents.
