Solanke Nominated For Golden Boy Award, Why Nwakali Missed Out

Turin based sports daily Tuttosport has announced the nominees for the 2017 Golden Boy, an award for the best footballer in Europe under the age of 21.

Liverpool striker Dominic Solanke is in the running for the prestigious award along with 24 other talented young stars.

The nominees include Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan), Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund), Kylian Mbappe (PSG), Marcus Rashford (Manchester City), Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona) and Joe Gomez (Liverpool).

Arsenal winger Alex Iwobi and Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho were nominated for the award in 2016, and this year Arsenal loanee Kelechi Nwakali and Everton loanee Henry Onyekuru have not been considered.

Eyebrows may be raised for the omission of Onyekuru after his breakthrough season with Eupen but Nwakali missed out on a nomination because he represented a second-tier club last term.

Previous winners of the award include Wayne Rooney, Lionel Messi, Sergio Agüero, Paul Pogba, Isco and Renato Sanches.

Nominees

Aaron Martin, Espanyol; Jean-Kevin Augustin, RB Leipzig; Rodrigo Bentacur, Juventus; Steven Bergwijn, PSV; Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Everton; Federico Chiesa, Fiorentina; Ousmane Dembele, 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 Monchengladbach; Christian Pulisic, Borussia Dortmund; Marcus Rashford, Manchester United; Allan Saint-Maximim, Nice; Dominic Solanke, Liverpool; Theo Hernandez, Real Madrid; Youri Tielemans, Monaco; Enes Unal, Villarreal; Kyle Walker-Peters, Tottenham.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : thefa.com