Manchester United are off to a rough start, yet again, but they have great young pieces to work with. Holding midfielder Kobbie Mainoo and winger Alejandro Garnacho are two such pieces were both named to the Kopa Trophy short list on Wednesday.
The award, which is part of the Ballon d’Or celebration, honors the best young developing/emerging talent in the game.
?? Kopa Trophy nominees for the Best Young Talent at the Ballon d’Or.
Who would you vote? ? pic.twitter.com/lXMdop2H8J
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 4, 2024
You can see the list in graphic form above. There is plenty of tough, top-tier competition for the plaudit that recognizes the best U-21 player in the world for the year of 2024 (with the announcement and ceremony coming in February of 2025.
Here is the full list of nominees below:
- Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)
- Arda Güler (Real Madrid)
- Pau Cubarsí (Barcelona)
- Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United)
- Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United)
- Karim Konaté (RB Salzburg)
- Joao Neves (Benfica and PSG)
- Savinho (Girona and Manchester City)
- Mathys Tel (Bayern Munich)
- Warren Zaïre-Emery (PSG)
Last month, Garnacho and Mainoo were also named on the short list for the PFA Young Player of the Year Award.
It’s not just Mainoo and Garnacho who really have something going on at United. If Rasmus Hojlund can stay healthy, and show us that form which we saw in the back half of last season, after he had gotten adjusted to life in the Premier League, well, then you’d have a young big-three-in-the-making.
Clear out a little more of the deadwood at Old Trafford, build more around this trio, add a couple more pieces, and well, then you’ll be cooking with gas, proverbially!
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.