The 40 nominees for the Golden Boy award have been announced, Manchester United and Liverpool stars included

The 40 nominees for the 2022 Golden Boy have been announced, including a number of Premier League stars. 

The Golden Boy award is voted by journalists to determine the best young player in European football. 

All nominees have to be aged 21 or under in order to qualify for the award. 

Former Real Madrid and Netherlands midfielder Rafael van der Vaart was the first ever recipient of the award, back in 2003. The most recent winner was Barcelona’s rising star, Pedri, who won in 2021. 

Past winners include the likes of Wayne Rooney, Raheem Sterling, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. 

Last year’s winner Pedri has been included on the star studded list. 

Premier League stars also made the cut, Anthony Elanga of Manchester United, Liverpool duo Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho are all in with a chance of getting their hands on the prestigious award. 

You can see the full list below.

England and Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham will be one of the front runners for the award. 

Bellingham scored and produced a brilliant display on Wednesday in the Champions League against Manchester City. Attracting praise from City boss, Pep Guardiola. 

The Spaniard said: “I was impressed when he was 17, imagine now that he’s 19, he grew up so [much].

“Defensively he’s able to follow Gundogan or Kevin [De Bruyne] in the pockets and win the duels. The transition is fast, have the sense for the second position right to the box for the goal he scored.

“So he’s an exceptional player, I think everyone knows it. Not because the manager of Manchester City is going to tell you. Everybody knows it.”

Alongside Bellingham will be the likes of Real Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga and Barcelona’s new gem, Pablo Gavi. 

18-year-old Gavi recently signed a new contract that will see him playing at the Cam Nou until 2026. The club have also showed the world how highly they rate Gavi by adding an eye watering release clause into his contract, believed to be €1 billion (£866m). 

Gavi has also become an important of Luis Enrique’s Spain national team. Enrique recently spoke about the young midfielder. 

He said: “He’s like an erupting volcano. 

“It’s very difficult not to fall in love with Gavi. Any fan wants to see him play”.