Power Ranking the 25-Man Shortlist for the 2017 Golden Boy Award
We're approaching that time of year when the big, individual awards are handed out. The Ballon d'Or and the Puskas Award dominate headlines coming into October as speculation over who will win reaches fever pitch, but there are other prestigious gongs to give out, and the European Golden Boy is most certainly one of them.
Since 2003, a collection of newspapers from across the continent have sent nominations in for who they perceive to be the five finest under-21 players in football, allocating points to each player ranging from 10 to one. They'll do so again this year and crown a successor to 2016's winner Renato Sanches.
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In some cases the winners have gone on to achieve great things (Wayne Rooney, Lionel Messi and Cesc Fabregas are testament to that), but in others, it has proved a poison chalice. Anderson, Alexandre Pato and Mario Balotelli are evidence of this.
Here, we rank the 25 nominees for this year's award in order. The Golden Boy award is given to the player who is voted to have had the best calendar year, so it takes into account the second half of last season and the first half of this term.
Warning: the tail end of this list is pretty weak. By that, we don't mean the players are poor (they're not; every player on this list has huge potential), but that they simply haven't played or achieved much in 2017.
25. Reece Oxford, West Ham
Oxford's sum total of five senior appearances in 2017—all of which were for Reading in the Championship, and one of which was in a 7-1 loss—means he's the weakest candidate on this list. He's a very good prospect, but he's not been able to show that this year.
24. Joe Gomez, Liverpool
Gomez didn't play a single Premier League minute in 2016-17 and only managed a handful of FA Cup showings this calendar year, largely due to injury.
He's started this season well and has actually emerged as the safest choice at right-back following Nathaniel Clyne's injury, but his case for the Golden Boy is weak.
23. Borja Mayoral, Real Madrid
Mayoral continues our theme of good young players who, frankly, haven't done a lot in 2017. His spell at Wolfsburg on loan last season was a disaster, and while he has made a positive impact this term, scoring against Real Sociedad, he enters this international break with just 101 La Liga minutes under his belt.
22. Emre Mor, Celta Vigo
Mor is an absurdly talented young midfielder with the sort of dribbling ability and speed that can crack open games, but his awareness is poor and he struggles to make correct decisions.
This led to Thomas Tuchel not trusting him, severely limiting his playing time at Borussia Dortmund, and he's yet to win over his new boss at Celta Vigo.
21. Amadou Diawara, Napoli
It takes time to adapt and get used to Maurizio Sarri's possession-based style at Napoli, so if you sign for them, expect to find yourself spending the first season learning the ropes.
That's what Diawara did, rarely featuring (although bizarrely doing so against Real Madrid in the Champions League knockouts), and he's only slightly upped his playing time this season. He's awesome, but we haven't seen much of him.
20. Jean-Kevin Augustin, RB Leipzig
It's at this point we move into the slightly more deserving category, as Augustin impressed for France's under-20 side at the World Cup during the summer and has started life with RB Leipzig well.
The only thing holding him back? 2016-17 was a non-season for him; he could have used a January loan away from Paris Saint-Germain, but he didn't get one and therefore did not play much at all.
19. Kyle Walker-Peters, Tottenham Hotspur
It almost seems harsh to put Walker-Peters up against some of the players in this list, as while he's had an excellent year, it's not been on the stage most of the others have been given.
KWP shone at the Under-20 World Cup and made his debut for Tottenham on the opening day of the 2017-18 Premier League season two months later. He's excellent, he's versatile, but with just 98 minutes of senior football under his belt in his career, he can't compete with the guys at the top.
18. Dominic Solanke, Liverpool
Most of what applies to Walker-Peters also applies to Solanke, except the latter actually played startlingly little youth football in the first half of 2017 due to a contractual dispute with Chelsea.
But the striker turned up to the Under-20 World Cup in phenomenal shape and impressed greatly, was named the Best Player at the tournament and scored four goals, including two in the semi-final against Italy.
He's now at Liverpool, where Jurgen Klopp is finding minutes for him and allowing him to progress.
17. Steven Bergwijn, PSV Eindhoven
PSV are still being a little careful with Bergwijn, easing him into senior life and capping his minutes a little.
Whenever he's taken to the pitch he's been fantastic, though, and it's been pleasing to see a player who has long been seen as the club's brightest prospect make good on his potential.
16. Aaron Martin, Espanyol
Good left-backs are almost always in short supply, so when a promising young one emerges, all the top clubs take note.
Martin usurped Espanyol's previous prodigy Ruben Duarte as their go-to man in this area, and he has impressed in an average side.
The likes of Real Madrid and Manchester City are keeping tabs, per The Sun's Jamie Gordon.
15. Enes Unal, Villarreal
Unal plundered 18 Eredivisie goals last season on loan at FC Twente, and off the back of it won a move to Villarreal. Manchester City have retained a buy-back stake in the Turkish striker in case he replicates that feat in La Liga and demands a second look.
He's already scored his first goal for the Yellow Submarine, although he's already seen the manager who brought him to the club—Fran Escriba—sacked.
14. Allan Saint-Maximin, OGC Nice
Saint-Maximin is an exhilarating watch; his dribbling ability is of the highest quality already, and in 2016-17, he rivalled Neymar for take-ons completed per game.
The problem is, he's still a fundamentally selfish player; his lack of awareness in key situations is crippling at times, and there's a lot of coaching to be done to ensure he isn't, say, an Adama Traore (Middlesbrough) Mark II.
13. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Everton
Of England's Under-20 World Cup final starting selection, Calvert-Lewin is by far the most established individual of the lot when it comes to club football.
He's been in and out of Everton's first team all calendar year. It's clear Ronald Koeman rates him, as he keeps turning to him in their hour of need, and this season he has been one of the few strong performers.
This, plus the fact he scored the winning goal in the Under-20 World Cup final, is enough to see him placed a comfortable 13th.
12. Benjamin Henrichs, Bayer Leverkusen
Henrichs was a name on the lips of plenty of Tottenham fans last summer; he was mooted as a potential successor to Kyle Walker once the Englishman had been sold to Manchester City.
He can play from either flank and is far more comfortable pushing forward and attacking. Defensively there's still a lot of work to be done, and now he has a more traditional coach, that might be addressed.
That Bayer Leverkusen dropped off alarmingly at the end of last season—and that Henrichs was as complicit in this as any other player—hurts his stock when it comes to ranking the candidates.
11. Federico Chiesa, Fiorentina
Fiorentina's revelation of 2016-17 was Chiesa, who emerged from the academy and held down a wide role all season long. He dipped in and out of the XI, but always made an impact regardless of his role.
Opposite the talented Federico Bernardeschi last season, they combined as a wing-wonder pair to hurt teams down the flanks. Now Bernardeschi has gone, it's on Chiesa to improve and progress to reach his former colleague's level.
10. Rodrigo Bentancur, Juventus
Juventus' deal for Rodrigo Bentancur was secured a long time ago, but fans have had to wait all this time to see him strut his stuff in black and white.
So far, the reward has been worth the wait; Bentancur has looked right at home in a Juventus kit, powering through midfield and displaying a maturity most thought would take a while to develop.
Things went a little stale for him at Boca Juniors toward the end, so perhaps the move has come at exactly the right time, relighting his fire after a so-so Under-20 Sudamericano tournament with Uruguay.
9. Youri Tielemans, AS Monaco
Leonardo Jardim is being careful with Tielemans, drip-feeding him into the Monaco side and largely preferring the influence of Joao Moutinho instead.
That makes sense; Les Monegasques were pillaged over the summer and the personnel turnover was high, so why not add the experience of Moutinho into the mix as a stabilising influence?
But in the flashes Tielemans has been allowed, he's shone. The French Trophee des Champions match saw him dazzle, showing much of what made his final year at Anderlecht so impactful and impressive.
We simply await his first howitzer strike from 30 yards for his new club...
8. Theo Hernandez, Real Madrid
Any loan spell that eventually wins you a move to Real Madrid has to be considered a wild success. That's what Hernandez managed this summer, having spent 2016-17 impressing with Deportivo Alaves.
The system in place there allowed him to buccaneer forward and carry an attacking workload, and to watch him power his way down the left flank with the ball at his feet was a thing of beauty.
Zinedine Zidane and Florentino Perez understandably liked what they saw and bought him in June. He is, ostensibly Marcelo's backup, but he is already being called into action following the Brazilian's muscle tear.
7. Marcus Rashford, Manchester United
Anthony Martial's loss of playing time under Jose Mourinho has been Rashford's gain: It appears the Englishman has won the immediate battle to start off the left and, to be fair, he has been brilliant so far this season.
He played a strong role in helping Manchester United to their Europa League triumph, starting all of the key knockout stage games and netting in the semi-final against Celta Vigo.
2017-18 has seen a whole new level of Rashford so far; he's exhausting and torturing full-backs, pummelling them into submission. Long may it continue.
6. Christian Pulisic, Borussia Dortmund
Pulisic has taken on new levels of importance for both club and country this year.
He is now the tactical linchpin of the U.S. national side, often playing in between the lines as a No. 10. Bruce Arena has correctly worked out that getting the ball into his feet as often as possible enhances the chances of his side's success.
For Borussia Dortmund, he's stepped into the Marco Reus-shaped hole valiantly, beginning the campaign superbly; he netted against Bayern Munich in the Supercup and has simply got better and better.
5. Kasper Dolberg, Ajax
Dolberg's rise has been eye-popping. His 2016-17 was absolutely stunning, notable for the brilliant goals he scored and the impact he made in an aesthetically pleasing Ajax side.
He struck 22 times in combined Eredivisie and Europa League play, but he also dropped in off the forward line to link play, dribble forward and create. He also works incredibly hard, pressing, pushing and forcing mistakes.
Dolberg's been unable to conjure that same sparkle early in 2017-18, but there's no doubt he's a special player.
4. Gianluigi Donnarumma, AC Milan
Sometimes you just have to stop, take stock, and remember that Donnarumma is only 18 years of age. His excellence has become so normal, so standard, that you assume he's been playing at the top level for half a decade.
It doesn't feel like he'll be at Milan for long—unless their Champions League aspirations are achieved over the course of this season. Even then, when teams like Real Madrid are goalkeeper-needy, Milan would be right to be worried.
That big bear-like frame of his smothers shots with ease, and he's commanding and confident in claiming crosses. You have to work very, very hard to beat Donnarumma—a fact many strikers have already found out the hard way.
3. Gabriel Jesus, Manchester City
At age 20, Jesus is the starting striker for both Manchester City and Brazil, a beloved component of Pep Guardiola's and a player already knocking on the door of the elite tier.
That his game is so well-rounded at this stage is remarkable; he's physical, fast, good in possession and has that critical knack of sniffing out chances. The offside flag has denied him several times for City since joining, but it's evidence of the way he plays: on the shoulder, slipping into dangerous areas.
Its difficult to fault the player. The only issue he's had in 2017 is that he hurt his ankle and missed a chunk of time just as he was starting to find his City groove.
2. Ousmane Dembele, Barcelona
Big things were expected of Dembele upon joining Borussia Dortmund, but not even the most optimistic of souls would have forecasted a mega move to Barcelona just a year later.
The Frenchman twisted and turned his way past Bundesliga full-backs all season and produced some magnificent showings in the Champions League—notably against Monaco in the quarter-finals.
He still has a little work to do regarding decision-making from dangerous areas, but the fact he weaves his way into them so frequently is the mark of a truly dangerous player.
1. Kylian Mbappe, Paris Saint-Germain
What a year it has been for Mbappe, who is the clear front-runner and favourite for the Golden Boy award. His rise has truly been in this calendar year alone, making him the perfect candidate.
Back in February, when Monaco announced their XI to face Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in the Champions League round of 16, it was a surprise to see Mbappe given the nod. It was a leap of faith by Leonardo Jardim to play him instead of the reliable Valere Germain, but it was repaid on the night and then over and over again.
Mbappe's electric speed, dazzling movement and stunning finishing punished City's defensive unit. A true star was born that night. From there he kept on scoring, becoming the first player to beat Gianluigi Buffon in the Champions League knockouts when netting in the semi-final.
His summer move to PSG has only intensified the magnifying glass, but he's thriving despite being played out on the wing. He, Edinson Cavani and Neymar form one of the deadliest trios in world football, and they've only just begun to show what they're capable of.
All statistics via WhoScored.com
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