Arsenal and England midfielder Myles Lewis-Skelly has been included on the 25-player shortlist for the 2026 Golden Boy award.
The 20-year-old is one of eight Premier League players competing for the prize, which is presented by Italian publication Tuttosport to the best men’s Under-21 player in Europe.
Bournemouth and Brighton each have two representatives, accounting for half of the Premier League contingent. Bournemouth’s finalists are Eli Junior Kroupi and Rayan, while Brighton are represented by Luka Vuskovic and Charalampos Kostoulas.
Chelsea also have two players on the list in Estevao and Jorrel Hato. The remaining Premier League nominee is Ayyoub Bouaddi, who joined Manchester City during the summer.
Barcelona have more finalists than any other club, with Pau Cubarsi, Marc Bernal and Xavi Espart all selected. Cubarsi is regarded as one of the leading contenders after being named the best young player at the summer’s World Cup.
Lamine Yamal, the odds-on favourite for this year’s Ballon d’Or, is not eligible because he has already won the Golden Boy award. The Barcelona and Spain forward claimed the prize in 2024.
Real Madrid have two nominees, Yan Diomande and Endrick, while Warren Zaire-Emery represents Paris Saint-Germain and Lennart Karl is Bayern Munich’s finalist.
Golden Boy 2026: the 25 finalists
– Kerim Alajbegovic (Juventus)
– Marc Bernal (Barcelona)
– Ayyoub Bouaddi (Manchester City)
– Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona)
– Yan Diomande (Real Madrid)
– Endrick (Real Madrid)
– Xavi Espart (Barcelona)
– Estevao (Chelsea)
– Victor Froholdt (Porto)
– Joane Gadou (Borussia Dortmund)
– Jorrel Hato (Chelsea)
– Finn Jeltsch (Stuttgart)
– Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich)
– Konstantinos Karetsas (Borussia Dortmund)
– Charalampos Kostoulas (Brighton)
– Eli Junior Kroupi (Bournemouth)
– Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal)
– Said El Mala (Koln)
– Jon Martin (Real Sociedad)
– Franco Mastantuono (Fiorentina, on loan from Real Madrid)
– Rodrigo Mora (Roma)
– Gianluca Prestianni (Benfica)
– Rayan (Bournemouth)
– Luka Vuskovic (Brighton)
Previous Golden Boy winners
The award was first won by Rafael van der Vaart in 2003, followed by Wayne Rooney in 2004 and Lionel Messi in 2005. Cesc Fabregas, Sergio Aguero and Anderson won in 2006, 2007 and 2008 respectively.
Alexandre Pato claimed the 2009 award, before Mario Balotelli, Mario Gotze, Isco and Paul Pogba won between 2010 and 2013. Raheem Sterling, Anthony Martial, Renato Sanches and Kylian Mbappe were the next winners from 2014 to 2017.
Matthijs de Ligt won in 2018, followed by Joao Felix in 2019, Erling Haaland in 2020, Pedri in 2021, Gavi in 2022, Jude Bellingham in 2023, Lamine Yamal in 2024 and Desire Doue in 2025.
