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The Golden Boy Award is given to the best under-21 player plying his trade in Europe for their achievements over the course of a calendar year. All the nominees for the award should have played in any of the European top-tier leagues.
It's an award given out by a panel of sports journalists representing the likes of The Times (UK), L'Équipe, France Football (both France), Marca, Mundo Deportivo (Spain), Bild (Germany), Blick (Switzerland), De Telegraaf (Netherlands), A Bola (Portugal), Ta Nea (Greece) and Sport Express (Russia).
Some of the biggest names in football have won the prestigious award. Wayne Rooney, Cesc Fabregas, Paul Pogba, Kylian Mbappe, Anthony Martial, Raheem Sterling are a few of the big names to have won it. Matthijs De Ligt and Joao Felix are the latest winners of the award.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the top 5 favourites to win the Golden Boy Award this year.
Honorable mentions: Ansu Fati (Barcelona), Rodrygo Goes (Real Madrid) and Ferran Torres (Valencia, Manchester City)
#5 Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
The 19-year-old winger has been an absolute revelation for Arsenal in a testing season. He was propelled into the first team scene when both Sead Kolasinac and Kieren Tierney became unavailable owing to injuries.
He was an instant hit and the Gunner fanbase had no problem taking to him after he helped them draw level against arch-rivals Manchester United in one of his earliest Premier League outings. He then went on to earn 10 assists across the Premier League and the Europa League in an impressive debut campaign.
Thanks to his exploits, Saka was given a new long-term contract at Arsenal. He is easily one of the most talented youngsters in the Premier League right now. In the words of his manager Mikel Arteta,
"I think he represents every value that this football club stands for. He has come through the academy, and earned his respect with hard work and accountability and you can see the progression that he is having as a player but as well as a person."
#4 Mason Greenwood (Manchester United)
Though the 2019-20 season started off on a dismal note for Manchester United, by the time they finished their campaign they had quite a lot of reasons to be happy and proud about and one of the most prominent among those is the rise of Mason Greenwood.
Perhaps the most natural striker of the group, Greenwood's game is reminiscent of a certain Robin Van Persie's. The young Manchester United forward stands out due to his two-footedness and his incredible eye for goal. He keeps the defenders guessing and has scored with some thunderous strikes that have forced the world to stand up and take notice.
He equalled Wayne Rooney's record for the most number of goals by a teenager for Manchester United. He is also the first teenager since Michael Owen to have scored 10+ goals in a Premier League season. What's even more impressive is the fact that he only made 12 starts in the Premier League and came off the bench on 19 occasions.
#3 Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund)
There is a reason why Manchester United have been pursuing the 20-year-old Englishman despite being asked to pay €120 million upfront in this difficult period. Jadon Sancho has been so impressive for Borussia Dortmund over the last couple of seasons that he is already being talked of as a generational talent.
Sancho is one of the finest attackers in the business already and packs a bag of tricks that lets him leave defenders for dead quite often. Not only does he set his teammates up on the regular but he also scores abundantly and rightly earned a call-up to the international side. He nlooks set to be a permanent fixture in Gareth Southgate's setup as well.
Whether Jadon Sancho is going to remain at Borussia Dortmund beyond this transfer window is unknown but we're sure that he will continue to rack up some incredible numbers in the seasons to come.
#2 Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich)
At 19 years of age, he could very well be the best player that Canada has ever produced. Alphonso Davies is just that good. After starting off as a winger, he was eased into a left-back role as David Alaba adopted a more central role in defence.
At left-back, Alphonso Davies has been a menace. He bombs up and down the flank and is just as adept at supporting his attackers as he is in lending a hand in defence. Davies is one of the fastest players in the Bundesliga and that coupled with his excellent close control and composure makes for a proposition most defenders wouldn't want to be posed with.
It has been quite a break-out season for Alphonso Davies after having won the continental treble with Bayern Munich.
#1 Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund)
The newest ruthless baby-faced assassin, Erling Haaland really needs no introduction. Famous for his stone faced efficiency in front of goal and awkward interviews, Erling Haaland is already a sensation.
The 20-year-old has had no trouble replicating his incredible goalscoring form from Salzburg at Borussia Dortmund after joining them in January. He scored 13 goals and provided 2 assists from 15 appearances for Dortmund last term and only 11 of those were starts.
Haaland works like a machine on the football ground and he was also the second highest goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League with 10 goals to his name. And he was 19 when he did that. He is touted as the favourite to win the Golden Boy Award in many circles. Well, could you dispute that? We don't think so.
