Everton youngster Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been short-listed for the Golden Boy award and will go head-to-head with some of Europe’s most talented young players next month to be crowned the best young player.
The Daily Mail revealed the short list on Tuesday afternoon and the 20-year-old was the only Toffee to be named, after team mate Tom Davies failed to progress from the provisional list of players.
The striker joins fellow Premier League stars Marcus Rashford, from Manchester United, and City’s Gabriel Jesus as well as Paris Saint-Germain loanee Kylian Mbappe in the 25 nominees.
Calvert-Lewin has featured in all 10 of the club’s fixtures so far this season and scored one goal and two assists.
Fellow Evertonian Wayne Rooney was a previous Golden Boy winner, and other holders include the likes of Lionel Messi, Paul Pogba and Raheem Sterling.
The award was started by Italian newspaper Tuttosport and the winner will be chosen by a host of journalists from all over Europe.
All nominees must be Under-21 and play in a European nations’ top tier to be considered.
OPINION
Being nominated will be a huge confidence boost for the young striker, but he faces some tough opposition for the award. The accolade isn’t completely out of reach, but his statistics and performance don’t quite match up to the likes of Rashford or Gabriel Jesus. Although he hasn’t scored as many goals as his striking competitors, his skill and technical ability will not go unnoticed as the judges deliberate.