THE Specialized portal Transfermarkt and the Italian newspaper Tuttosport carried out, this Thursday, another monthly update to the group of candidates to win the Golden Boy, an individual trophy that annually distinguishes the best under-21 player playing in European football.
At a time when there are approximately four months left for the winner to be revealed, FC Porto is showing off, so much so that it is the most represented club of all, putting no more, no less, than five players into the race, now that Rodrigo Mora and Martim Fernandes have joined Victor Froholdt, Oskar Pietuszewski and William Gomes.
Borussia Dortmund follows, with four candidates (Konstantinos Karetsas, Luca Reggiani, Joane Gadou and Samuele Inácio), while Sporting Benfica and Alverca have just one (João Simões, Gianluca Prestianni and Bastien Meupiyou, respectively). Also in the fight are the Portuguese Geovany Quenda (from Chelsea) and Diogo Sousa (from Strasbourg).
Froholdt is well positioned, but the favorite is another
At this moment, Pau Cubarsí, Barcelona’s ‘pillar’ who has just become world champion with Spain, appears as the main candidate to be elected and Europe’s best promise, followed by his national team-mate, Lamine Yamal, with a score of 81.2 and 80.6, respectively.
Rounding out the podium is Yan Diomande, an Ivorian international who recently left Leipzig to join José Mourinho at Real Madrid, in exchange for a fee of around 125 million euros (plus 15 million euros in bonuses), in a ranking that takes into account the sporting moment each player is going through.
Further back, there are Victor Froholdt (6th), Gianluca Prestianni (26th), Rodrigo Mora (34th), Oskar Pietuszewski (44th), Geovany Quenda (48th), William Gomes (51st), Martim Fernandes (54th), João Simões (71st), Bastien Meupiyou (74th) and, finally, Diogo Sousa (76th), as far as representatives of Portuguese football are concerned.
Portugal has already had two Golden Boys
Created in 2003, Golden Boy has already been handed over to two Portuguese players, more specifically, Renato Sanches (in 2015) and João Félix (in 2019), interestingly, in the years in which the first made the ‘leap’ to Bayern Munich (for 35 million euros) and the second to Atlético de Madrid (for 120 million euros).
The expectations surrounding both young promises were high, but the truth is that, at least until now, they have not yet been able to fully fulfill the potential that was recognized in them. The midfielder currently plays for Panathinaikos, while the second shares a dressing room with Cristiano Ronaldo and Samu Costa, at Al Nassr.
In the last calendar year, remember, this individual distinction ended up in the hands of Désiré Doué, as a result of performances signed for Paris Saint-Germain, alongside fellow Portuguese players Nuno Mendes, Vitinha, João Neves and Gonçalo Ramos (who, in the meantime, joined Ruben Amorim and Rafael Leão, at AC Milan, for around 65 million euros).
