Hato has a chance to follow in the footsteps of Van der Vaart and De Ligt

Jorrel Hato has made the 25-man shortlist for the Golden Boy Award, Tuttosport announced on Monday. Two Dutchmen have previously won the prestigious prize: Rafael van der Vaart in 2003 and Matthijs de Ligt in 2018.

At 20, Hato has mostly been a starter for Chelsea this season. Usually at left-back, though he has also featured on the left wing. For the Netherlands, he is a squad player. Xavi only sent him on for half an hour against Serbia during this international period.

That leaves doubts over whether Hato is among the favourites for the Golden Boy Award. Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich), Pau Cubarsí (FC Barcelona) and Warren Zaïre-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain) appear far more likely to win the prize, which will probably be awarded in November.

This time, previous winners are not in the running for the prestigious trophy. That means Hato will not be up against players such as Lamine Yamal and Desiré Doué, who was named the best player under the age of 21 last year.

Tuttosport has assembled a jury of eleven journalists, with a reporter from De Telegraaf as the Dutch representative. It is not yet known where the vote from the Netherlands will go.