USMNT and Borussia Dortmund attacker Christian Pulisic has been named to the shortlist for the 2017 Golden Boy, the award handed to the top under 21 talent playing in Europe. Previous winners of the award include Paul Pogba (2013), Sergio Aguero (2007) and Lionel Messi (2005). This is Pulisic’s first appearance on the shortlist after enjoying a season of more prominent and consistent performances for both club and country.
In 2016, the award was handed to Renato Sanches after an impressive season with Benfica and some breakout performances for Portugal at that summer’s European Championship, earning him a mega move to Bayern Munich. Last season’s runner-up, Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, has also been included alongside Pulisic’s former club teammate Ousmane Dembele.
Dembele has since joined Barcelona, becoming one of the world’s most expensive players of all time in the process, but an injury in his first league start for the Catalans will now keep him on the sidelines for up to three months.
The overwhelming favorite for the award has to be 18-year-old French striker Kylian Mbappe. Mbappe scored 26 goals in all competitions last season to help Monaco to the Ligue 1 title and advance to the semifinals of the Champions League. He’s since joined Paris Saint-Germain for a fee that could potentially rise to around $215 million.
England leads all nations with a total of six representatives on the shortlist: Rashford (Manchester United), Dominic Solanke (Liverpool), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Dominic Calvin-Lewin (Everton), Kyle Walker-Peters (Tottenham) and Reece Oxford (West Ham).
2017 Golden Boy Award Nominees
- Aarón Martin (Espanyol)
- Jean-Kévin Augustin (RB Leipzig)
- Rodrigo Bentacur (Juventus)
- Steven Bergwijn (PSV Eindhoven)
- Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton)
- Federico Chiesa (Fiorentina)
- Ousmane Dembélé (Barcelona)
- Amadou Diawara (Napoli)
- Kasper Dolberg (Ajax)
- Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan)
- Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City)
- Joe Gomez (Liverpool)
- Benjamin Henrichs (Bayer Leverkusen)
- Borja Mayoral (Real Madrid)
- Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain)
- Emre Mor (Celta Vigo)
- Reece Oxford (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
- Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund)
- Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
- Allan Saint-Maximim (Nice)
- Dominic Solanke (Liverpool)
- Theo Hernandez (Real Madrid)
- Youri Tielemans (Monaco)
- Enes Ünal (Villarreal)
- Kyle Walker-Peters (Tottenham)
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