The shortlist for the 2017 Golden Boy list has been revealed and there's plenty of Premier League presence.
Marcus Rashford, who has scored on every debut in every competition he's played in bar the FA Cup, has cemented his place as one of the top talents in European football and is one of the leading contenders for the prestigious award, which is ran by Italian outlet Tuttosport.
Image: PA
He's tussling it with the other in-form young starlet across town, as Gabriel Jesus, statistically the most prolific striker in Premier League history after taking to English football like a house on fire following his debut in January this year, is deservedly included on the shortlist.
Image: PA
Rashford and Jesus are two of the six Premier League players to feature - with the remaining four all English players. Liverpool pair Dominic Solanke and Joe Gomez both get a place, as do Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Kyle Walker-Peters and Reece Oxford, currently on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach from West Ham.
The favourite for the award is undoubtedly Kylian Mbappe. The 18-year old blew everyone away with a 26-goal season for Monaco as they won Ligue One and reached the Champions League semi-finals under Leonardo Jardim, before getting a loan move to boyhood club PSG, which will then become permanent for a fee of £166 million next summer.
Image: PA
His compatriot Ousmane Dembele, set for four months on the sidelines after being hit with an injury blow in just his second game for Barcelona following his £96 million move, is up for the award, while household names Gianluigi Donnarumma, Kasper Dolberg, Christian Pulisic and Youri Tielemans are also in with a shout.
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Here is the list in full:
Aaron Martin, Espanyol
Jean-Kevin Augustin, RB Leipzig
Rodrigo Bentacur, Juventus
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Steven Bergwijn, PSV Eindhoven
Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Everton
Federico Chiesa, Fiorentina
Ousmane Dembélé, Barcelona
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Amadou Diawara, Napoli
Kasper Dolberg, Ajax
Gianluigi Donnarumma, Milan
Gabriel Jesus, Manchester City
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Joe Gomez, Liverpool
Benjamin Henrichs, Bayer Leverkusen
Borja Mayoral, Real Madrid
Kylian Mbappe, Paris Saint-Germain
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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
A star-studded list of past winners includes Wayne Rooney, Lionel Messi, Cesc Fabregas, Sergio Aguero, Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial, Isco, Mario Balotelli, Raheem Sterling and Renato Sanches.
Who do you think will scoop the gong? Sound off in the comments section below.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Gabriel Jesus, Marcus Rashford, Kylian Mbappe