Super Eagles and Villarreal winger, Samuel Chukwueze has been excluded from the final 20-man shortlist for the Golden Boy Award and Barcelona youngster, Ansu Fati named in the list.
The Nigerian international, who played all 90 minutes in Nigeria’s 1-1 draw against Brazil in Sunday’s friendly encounter, was initially shortlisted for the award but have his name omitted from the final list despite enjoying a breakthrough season in the 2018-19 campaign with Villarreal, where he netted five goals in 26 La Liga games.
On the other hand, Ansu Fati was initially not among the original list but seem to found his way to the final shortlist for the award.
The prestigious award is given out by Italian newspaper, Tuttosport, for the best player under 21, who plays in the top tier of European football.
Players such as Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Isco, Paul Pogba, and Kylian Mbappe all previously won the award.
Among the contenders are England youngsters, Jadon Sancho, Mason Mount, and Phil Foden.
Arsenal midfielder, Matteo Guendouzi, has also made the 20-man list, just a year after joining the club from Lorient.
Atletico Madrid and Portugal youngster, Joao Felix is among the favourites for the prize, having joined from Benfica in a £113m deal in the summer.
Golden Boy final shortlist:
Matthijs de Ligt (20) – Juventus
Alphonso Davies (18) – Bayern Munich
Gianluigi Donnarumma (20) – AC Milan
Ansu Fati (16) – Barcelona
Phil Foden (19) – Man City
Matteo Guendouzi (20) – Arsenal
Erling Braut Haaland (19) – RB Salzburg
Kai Haverts (20) – Bayer Leverkusen
Joao Felix (19) – Atletico Madrid
Dejan Joveljic (20) – Eintracht Frankfurt
Moise Kean (19) – Everton
Lee Kang-in (18) – Valencia
Andriy Lunin (20) – Real Madrid
Donyell Malen (20) – PSV
Mason Mount (20) – Chelsea
Rodrygo (18) – Real Madrid
Jadon Sancho (19) – Borussia Dortmund
Ferran Torres (19) – Valencia
Vinicius Junior (19) – Real Madrid
Nicolo Zaniolo (20) – Roma