Chelsea striker Dominic Solanke scooped the adidas Golden Ball at the 2017 Under-20 World Cup, and emulated the achievement of Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, Robert Prosinečki, Javier Saviola and Paul Pogba.

Solanke was chosen ahead of Federico Valverde and Yangel Herrera for his goals and all-round performance which were instrumental in the Yong Lions winning the tournament for the first time in their history.

''I was chuffed when they told me I was going to win [the Golden Ball]. On top of winning the main trophy, I’m really happy,” Solanke told FIFA.com.

“It’s amazing to win such a big tournament, everyone was rooting for us back home and we knew if we did everything right we’d get the result, and we did. It still hasn’t really sunk in.”

Solanke registered from the spot against Argentina, netted the winner against Mexico and bagged a brace against Italy in the semifinal.

The 19-year-old has agreed a move to Liverpool with effect from July 1, 2017.

Igho Kingsley

Photo Credit : thefa.com