The Italian newspaper Tuttosport announced the 100 contenders for the 2021 Golden Boy Award on Tuesday evening. With Ryan Gravenberch, Devyne Rensch, Jurriën Timber (all Ajax), Brian Brobbey (Ajax, sold to RB Leipzig), Myron Boadu (AZ), Mohamed Ihattaren (PSV) and Xavi Simons (Paris Saint-Germain), seven Dutchmen have been nominated. The Burkinabe striker Lassina Traoré of Ajax is also competing for the prize, which is awarded to the best player under 21 in Europe.
Last year Erling Braut Haaland took home the prestigious trophy, so this time he doesn’t stand a chance. Great talents such as Mason Greenwood (Manchester United), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Eduardo Camavinga (Stade Rennes), Pedri (Barcelona), Jude Bellingham and Youssoufa Moukoko (both Borussia Dortmund) are in the race this year. Rafael van der Vaart was the first winner of the trophy in 2003; in 2018, Matthijs de Ligt became the second and for the time being the last Dutchman to be named Europe’s greatest talent.
The ranking will be shortened by twenty players on the fifteenth day of the coming months, before a winner is finally announced. The ranking is drawn up on the basis of a vote among 40 journalists from leading European media; on behalf of the Netherlands, a jury member from The Telegraph cast a vote. Each judge selects a top five of players, who are awarded ten, seven, five, three and one point. The winner will be selected based on the sum of all votes.
Via the website of Tuttosport the public can also express its preference. In this way, a winner is chosen who will receive the audience award. Besiktas supporters are massively asserting themselves in the online vote for the time being, because Besiktas keeper Ersin Destanoglu convincingly leads with 46.6 percent. Olympique Marseille striker Luis Henrique (15.8 percent) and Sporting Portugal left-back Nuno Mendes (11.7 percent) also collected a significant percentage of votes.
You can vote for the audience prize of the Golden Boy Award here (doesn’t work via the app).