Real Madrid youngsters Vinicius Jr and Achraf Hakimi are among the 20 finalists bidding to get their hands on this year’s Golden Boy award.
The accolade is presented to the best footballer at a European club under the age of 21. At just 18, Vinicius made his competitive Real debut against Los Blancos’ fierce rivals Atletico Madrid and has gone on to show his quality in the first team, while also scoring four goals this season for Castilla.
Another familiar name on the shortlist is full-back Hakimi. The 19-year-old Morroccan is currently out on loan at Borussia Dortmund and enjoying an impressive spell in the Bundesliga.
The remaining candidates for the award are: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Kelvin Amian (Toulouse), Houssem Aouar (Lyon), Josip Brekalo (Wolfsburg), Patrick Cutrone (AC Milan), Dani Olmo (Dinamo Zagreb), Tom Davies (Everton), Matthijs De Ligt (Ajax), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Eder Militao (Porto), Odsonne Edouard (Celtic), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Gedson Fernandes (Benfica), Amadou Haidara (Salzburg), Nanitamo Ikone (Lille), Justin Kluivert (Roma), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) and Dayot Upamecano (RB Leipzig).
Tuttosport will present the award at the end of the year. The jury is made up of 30 members from 20 European countries, who will each issue five votes with a value of 10, 7, 5, 3 and 1 point respectively. The final tally of these votes will determine who gets their hands on the prize.
