Golden Boy 2026: Eight Premier League players named on 25-man shortlist

Eight Premier League players have made the 25-man shortlist for the 2026 Golden Boy award, with Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly, Chelsea's Estêvão and Manchester City's Ayyoub Bouaddi among the English top flight's contenders.

The prize, presented by Italian publication Tuttosport, goes to the best under-21 men's player in Europe. Players must have been born on or after January 1, 2006, and belong to a squad in one of UEFA's top 25 leagues to be considered.

Lewis-Skelly is shortlisted for a second year in a row, following his role in Arsenal's Premier League title triumph and run to the Champions League final. Bouaddi, a summer signing at City, earns his place after a breakthrough World Cup with Morocco.

Brighton and Bournemouth both have two players in contention. Luka Vušković and Charalampos Kostoulas represent Brighton, while Eli Junior Kroupi and Rayan fly the flag for Bournemouth. Chelsea complete the Premier League contingent with Estêvão and Jorrel Hato.

Pau Cubarsí leads the way with Lamine Yamal ineligible

Barcelona have three players on the list, more than any other club. Pau Cubarsí, named best young player at the 2026 World Cup and also nominated for the Ballon d'Or, is joined by Marc Bernal and Xavi Espart.

His team-mate Lamine Yamal is not nominated. The 2024 winner remains eligible by age, but a player cannot win the award twice. Real Madrid's Yan Diomande, who joined from RB Leipzig in the summer, is also in the running, along with Paris Saint-Germain's Warren Zaïre-Emery and Bayern Munich's Lennart Karl. Désiré Doué won the award in 2025.

Golden Boy 2026: the 25 finalists

Kerim Alajbegović (Juventus)

Marc Bernal (Barcelona)

Ayyoub Bouaddi (Manchester City)

Pau Cubarsí (Barcelona)

Yan Diomande (Real Madrid)

Saïd El Mala (Köln)

Endrick (Real Madrid)

Xavi Espart (Barcelona)

Estêvão (Chelsea)

Victor Froholdt (Porto)

Joane Gadou (Borussia Dortmund)

Jorrel Hato (Chelsea)

Finn Jeltsch (Stuttgart)

Konstantinos Karetsas (Borussia Dortmund)

Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich)

Charalampos Kostoulas (Brighton)

Eli Junior Kroupi (Bournemouth)

Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal)

Jon Martín (Real Sociedad)

Franco Mastantuono (Fiorentina, on loan from Real Madrid)

Rodrigo Mora (Roma)

Gianluca Prestianni (Benfica)

Rayan (Bournemouth)

Luka Vušković (Brighton)

Warren Zaïre-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain)