Golden Boy 2019: Ansu Fati, Joao Félix, Vinícius Junior and 17 other candidates for the best Under-21 player of the year award [PHOTOS]

Spanish player Ansu Fati from Barcelona, Portuguese player Joao Félix from Atletico Madrid, and Brazilian players Rodrygo Goes and Vinícius Junior from Real Madrid, are among the 20 finalists for the Golden Boy award for the best under-21 player of the year.

The Turin newspaper "Tuttosport", which has been awarding this prize since 2003, announced a list of candidates that also includes Spanish players Ferrán Torres and South Korean Lee Kang-in from Valencia, Dutch player Matthijs De Ligt from Juventus and winner in 2018, and Ukrainian player Andrij Lunin, owned by Real Madrid and currently on loan to Real Valladolid.

Ansu Fati, recently called up by Luis De La Fuente for the Spanish under-21 national team, is one of the great sensations on the list, after making a place for himself at only 16 years old in Barcelona's first team and scoring two goals in the league with record-breaking performances.

The representation of Real Madrid is led by Vinícius, born in 2000, who is entering his second season in Madrid after playing 31 matches last season, and by Rodrygo who, at 18 years old, made his debut with a great goal against Osasuna at the Bernabéu last September.

However, the favorite is Joao Félix, signed this summer by Atlético Madrid for €126 million from Benfica after shining with 20 goals and pure class in Portugal at only 19 years old.

English player Phil Foden (19 years old), pupil of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, German player Kai Havertz (20 years old) from Bayer Leverkusen, and English player Jadon Sancho (19 years old) from Borussia Dortmund, also entered the list of finalists.

The first winner of the Golden Boy was Dutch player Rafael Van der Vaart and among the other "young players of the year" were English player Wayne Rooney, Argentinean player Lionel Messi, Spanish players Cesc Fábregas and Isco Alarcón, and French player Kylian Mbappé.

The 2019 award, which is based on the votes of 40 journalists from the main European sports media, will be presented to the winner on December 16th in Turin.

Source: EFE

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