Ansu Fati In Chukwueze Out As Golden Boys Nominees Are Announced

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