The Golden Boy nominees have been announced for 2021! The award that acknowledges the best under 21 players plying their trade in Europe for a calendar year is back and this year could be one of the most stacked nominee lists ever.
Established by Italian sports publication Tuttosport in 2003, it has gone on to become a very handy indicator when it comes to finding the next big thing in football. Former winners include the likes of Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney, Paul Pogba, Kylian Mbappe, and last year’s winner Erling Haaland. Let’s take a look at some of the candidates.
For the next installment in this series we look at Jude Bellingham, who is undoubtedly one of the favorites to take home the award this year.
After making the €23 million move from Birmingham to Borussia Dortmund, many pundits and onlookers thought there might be a bit of a settling-in period for the 18-year-old central midfielder.
They needn’t have worried about that as Jude Bellingham has become an integral part of Dortmund’s midfield, making 54 appearances in all competitions and having 14 score involvements (6 goals, 8 assists).
He also established himself as a regular member of the English senior squad, having made seven appearances for the Three Lions during the judging period, including 3 appearances during England’s incredible run to the 2020 European Championships final.
Bellingham was linked with Manchester United quite a bit, before he made the move to BVB, which is something you could also say about Erling Haaland.
Maybe he follow the path of Jadon Sancho and go from Dortmund to United someday? Will Jude Bellingham eventually become the next in the long line of BVB young stars who move on to a bigger, richer club? Buy low, sell high, it’s what they do.
Golden Boy Award Candidate Profile Series