Myles Lewis-Skelly leads Premier League charge on Golden Boy 2026 25-man shortlist
Lewis-Skelly among eight Premier League stars on shortlist
Arsenal and England midfielder Myles Lewis-Skelly has been included in the 25-man shortlist for this year's Golden Boy award. The 20-year-old is one of eight Premier League players in contention for the prize, presented by Italian publication Tuttosport, which is awarded to the best U21 men's player in Europe.
Premier League players make up nearly a third of the 25 finalists. Bournemouth and Brighton both have two players among the finalists, making up half of the Premier League contingent. Eli Junior Kroupi and Rayan are in contention for Bournemouth, while Brighton have Luka Vuskovic and Charalampos Kostoulas.
Chelsea also have two shortlisted players in Estevao Willian and Jorrel Hato, while Manchester City's summer signing Ayyoub Bouaddi is the other Premier League star on the list.
Barcelona lead the way among clubs
Barcelona have three players shortlisted, more than any other club, with Pau Cubarsi, Marc Bernal and Xavi Espart included. Cubarsi, named best young player at the summer's World Cup, is among the strongest contenders.
Lamine Yamal, the odds-on favourite for this year's Ballon d'Or, is ruled out because he has already won the award.
Real Madrid, PSG and Bayern also represented
Real Madrid have two players in the mix with Yan Diomande and Endrick, while Paris Saint-Germain's Warren Zaire-Emery and Bayern Munich's Lennart Karl also make the cut.
Full list of 25 finalists
- Kerim Alajbegović (Juventus)
- Marc Bernal (Barcelona)
- Ayyoub Bouaddi (Manchester City)
- Pau Cubarsí (Barcelona)
- Yan Diomande (Real Madrid)
- Endrick (Real Madrid)
- Xavi Espart (Barcelona)
- Estêvão (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)
- Saïd El Mala (Köln)
- Jon Martin (Real Sociedad)
- Franco Mastantuono (Fiorentina, on loan from Real Madrid)
- Rodrigo Mora (Roma)
- Gianluca Prestianni (Benfica)
- Rayan (Bournemouth)
- Luka Vuskovic (Brighton)
Past winners
Recent winners of the award include Erling Haaland (2020), Pedri (2021), Gavi (2022), Jude Bellingham (2023), Lamine Yamal (2024) and Désiré Doué (2025).
Note: Lewis-Skelly's current Premier League 2026-27 figures on FotMob (as of 14 October 2026) show five appearances, no goals and no assists.