Manchester United’s £72m man Rasmus Hojlund is named with three other young Premier League stars on 25-man shortlist for the Golden Boy award

• Levi Colwill, Milos Kerkez and Evan Ferguson have been shortlisted for the award
• Jude Bellingham is the overwhelming favourite to lift the trophy in December
• Barcelona’s Gavi won last year, meaning he is ineligible to do so a second time

Four Premier League players have been included on the shortlist for this year’s Golden Boy award, including Rasmus Hojlund and Levi Colwill.

The award is given to the best U21 player in Europe for the year, with it in its 20th year of existence. Previous winners include Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.

There are 25 players on the list, with the winner set to be announced at an award ceremony in Turin on December 4. A number of journalists will vote for the winner, with easy voter casting a top five.

10 points are given to the first pick, seven for second, five for third, three for fourth and one for fifth.

Colwill, Hojlund, Evan Ferguson and Milos Kerkez are the four Premier League players included, with England and Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham heavy favourite to scoop the award.

Manchester United’s Rasmus Hojlund has been shortlisted to win the Golden Boy award later on this year

Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham is a clear favourtie to win the award after being nominated again this year

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Another player who may fancy his chances of success is Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala, with Xavi Simons and Alejandro Balde also nominated.

Hojlund would be the second Manchester United striker to win the award in nine years if he were to be successful, with Anthony Martial lifting the trophy in 2015 shortly after joining the club from Monaco.

Barcelona duo Pedri and Gavi won it in 2021 and 2022 respectively so are no longer eligible to be nominated.

Chelsea’s Levi Colwill (right) may have hopes of a high finish after making the 25-man list

Barcelona star Gavi lifted the trophy last year and is ineligible for nomination this time around

If Bellingham were to win the award, he would be the third Englishman to do so, after Wayne Rooney in 2004 and Raheem Sterling in 2014, who won while at Liverpool.

The Madrid star has enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top of the game, signing for the Spanish giants in the summer from Borussia Dortmund in a deal worth £113million.

He has been a regular in Carlo Ancelotti’s side since, scoring 10 goals in as many appearances this season while also starring for England in the latest international break.

The 19-year-old is set to play a prominent role again over the next few days for Gareth Southgate’s side in matches against Australia and Italy. 

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