Lewis-Skelly Headlines Premier League-Heavy Golden Boy 2026 Shortlist

59 minutes ago·2 min

Arsenal and England midfielder Myles Lewis-Skelly has secured a place on the 25-man shortlist for the 2026 Golden Boy award, the prestigious prize presented by Italian publication Tuttosport to the best male player aged under 21 in Europe.

The 20-year-old is one of eight Premier League players in contention — a figure that accounts for nearly a third of all finalists and underlines English football's growing influence in developing elite young talent.

Premier League clubs lead the way

Bournemouth and Brighton each contribute two players to the shortlist. Eli Junior Kroupi and Rayan represent Bournemouth, while Brighton's nominees are Luka Vuskovic and Charalampos Kostoulas. Chelsea also place two players in contention — Estevao Willian and Jorrel Hato — with Manchester City summer signing Ayyoub Bouaddi completing the Premier League contingent.

Barcelona lead at club level

No club has more nominees than Barcelona, who place three players on the list: Pau Cubarsi, Marc Bernal, and Xavi Espart. Cubarsi, who was named best young player at this summer's World Cup, is widely regarded as one of the strongest contenders for the award.

Notably absent from the list is Lamine Yamal, who would have been the favourite — but the Barcelona and Spain winger is ineligible having already claimed the prize in 2024. Real Madrid also have two finalists in Yan Diomande and Endrick, while Paris Saint-Germain's Warren Zaire-Emery and Bayern Munich's Lennart Karl are also in the mix.

The full 25-man shortlist

Kerim Alajbegović (Juventus), Marc Bernal (Barcelona), Ayyoub Bouaddi (Manchester City), Pau Cubarsí (Barcelona), Yan Diomande (Real Madrid), Endrick (Real Madrid), Xavi Espart (Barcelona), Estêvão (Chelsea), Victor Froholdt (Porto), Joane Gadou (Borussia Dortmund), Jorrel Hato (Chelsea), Finn Jeltsch (Stuttgart), Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich), Konstantinos Karetsas (Borussia Dortmund), Charalampos Kostoulas (Brighton), Eli Junior Kroupi (Bournemouth), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), Saïd El Mala (Köln), Jon Martin (Real Sociedad), Franco Mastantuono (Fiorentina, on loan from Real Madrid), Rodrigo Mora (Roma), Gianluca Prestianni (Benfica), Rayan (Bournemouth), Luka Vuskovic (Brighton), Warren Zaire-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain).