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The 100 nominees for the 2021 Golden Boy Award have been named. It is an award given by sports journalists to the best under-21 footballer who plies his trade in any of the European top-flights. Erling Haaland took home the award in 2020 after a stellar season with Red Bull Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund.
The Golden Boy Award is the young footballer's Ballon d'Or. Last year, Haaland was the clear-cut favourite to win the Golden Boy Award. But this time around, it's hard to predict who's going to be chosen as the Golden Boy as we have a lot of talented young individuals who have been nominated.
No clear-cut favourites in the race for the 2021 Golden Boy Award
The list of nominees will be cut short by 20 on the 15th of each of the upcoming months until October. We will have 20 finalists by October 15 following which the Golden Boy of the Year will be chosen. But let's not wait that long and try to trim that list down to just five. Take a look at the top five favourites to win the 2021 Golden Boy Award.
#5 Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
It says a lot about Arsenal's lack of zip in attack when they are regularly forced to look for a creative spark from their 19-year-old winger. Saka has been a guiding light for the Gunners and has come up with the goods on several occasions.
The youngster started off at left-back but has transitioned into an inverted right-winger in recent times. His ball retaining ability and vision set him apart from the rest and Gareth Southgate was justified in giving him a call-up to the national side for Euro 2021.
He is good on both sides of the pitch and his trickery can cause problems for the best defenders in the Premier League. Saka can go on to become a big star in the years to come. He scored seven goals and provided 10 assists in 46 matches across all competitions last term. Saka is definitely one of the favourites to win the 2021 Golden Boy Award.
#4 Mason Greenwood (Manchester United)
Manchester United's golden boy Mason Greenwood had a stellar breakout season in 2019-20. However, due to several off-field issues he was in a bit of turmoil by the time the 2020-21 season pulled up. Credit then goes to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for being patient with him and helping him whip out his best towards the end of the season.
Struggling to replicate his form from the 2019-20 season, Greenwood took a while to get his confidence back. However, it was clear to see that he had added a lot more to his game in the meantime. The 20-year-old started to get really good on the ball and stealing the ball from him seemed like a difficult task all throughout the 2020-21 campaign.
Greenwood ended the 2020-21 season with a flourish. In his last 14 appearances, he scored eight goals and provided an assist. He ended the season with 12 goals and six assists to his name in 52 appearances across all competitions. He only started 36 times. Greenwood is one of the main contendors for the 2021 Golden Boy Award.
#3 Ryan Gravenberch (Ajax)
One of the freshest stars to be produced by the famed Ajax academy, Ryan Gravenberch is already an elegant midfielder at the age of 19. He has a commanding presence and is quite comfortable with the ball at his feet.
Gravenberch also possesses incredible vision with respect to his age and has shown the ability to feed his attackers with pin-point long balls and diagonals. It's a joy to watch him navigate cul-de-sacs with his deft touches and he is also pretty adept at breaking up play and making recoveries.
He has also shown that he can score some peaches from range and we're certain that he'll go on to do it more consistently in the future. He scored five goals and provided six assists for Ajax in 47 appearances across all competitions in the 2020-21 season.
It's worth noting that his contributions have come from central midfield. His exploits have not gone unnoticed by the Netherlands' coach Frank De Boer, and Gravenberch is part of the Netherlands team at Euro 2020.
#2 Pedri (Barcelona)
You'll be forgiven for thinking Pedri is the latest generational talent produced by the famed La Masia. After all, he has already drawn comparisons to Andres Iniesta with his movement and passing. Pedri is also a regular feature in Ronald Koeman's starting XI at the age of 18. He was signed from Las Palmas by Barcelona in 2019.
He was loaned back to them for the 2019-20 season but Koeman decided he deserved a run in the first team when he took charge in the summer of 2020. Pedri has repaid that faith and has showcased great passing, vision and ball control. Playing for Barcelona in midfield is quite a task and it is even more daunting when you're adjusting to playing in a new position.
That's right. Pedri was a right-winger but Koeman noticed his qualities and started using him in midfield. At 18, he is already comfortable with Barcelona's possession-based play and he is sharp with the ball at his feet. He also plays some excellent threaded through balls and we're excited to see more of the Spaniard in the years to come.
#1 Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund)
He's just about to turn 18 and Bellingham is the youngest player ever to play at the European championship. The 17-year-old Borussia Dortmund midfielder dominated the midfield realms in the Champions League this past season.
When you look at the fact that he played for Birmingham in their promotion drive in the English second-division in 2019-20, his achievements look even more impressive. Borussia Dortmund are wary of the fact that they have a generational talent on their hands and his development in just one season has been astounding.
He has all the qualities required of a no.8. Bellingham possesses great technique and can wriggle his way out of tight paces with the ball glued to his feet. The 17-year-old has great spatial awareness as well and keeps popping up in pockets of space in midfield and in the final third.
He also has a pretty good passing range and is one of the most talented 17-year-olds the world has ever seen.
