England striker Michelle Agyemang and nine Premier League stars are in the running for honours that recognise the best young players in Europe.
Agyemang has been nominated for the Golden Girl award, while the Premier League contingent are on the 25-player Golden Boy shortlist.
The awards, created by Italian newspaper Tuttosport, are given to the best under-21 footballers each year, with Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal becoming last year’s Golden Boy winner. Vicky Lopez, also of Barcelona, is the Golden Girl holder.
The likes of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Wayne Rooney are previous winners of the men’s award, while Germany’s Jule Brand and Colombian Linda Caicedo have taken the women’s award.
For a player to be considered in 2025, they must have been born on or after January 1, 2005, and belong to a squad in one of Uefa’s top 25 leagues.
Despite remaining eligible by age, Yamal, 18, is not named among the nominees because a player cannot win the award twice.
The nine Premier League nominees are Arsenal left-back Lewis-Skelly and midfielder Ethan Nwaneri, Tottenham Hotspur midfielders Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray, Chelsea forward Estevao and defender Jorrel Hato, Manchester United defender Leny Yoro, Manchester City full-back Nico O’Reilly and Liverpool centre half Giovanni Leoni.
O’Reilly, 20, was named in the senior England squad for the first time for the recent internationals but has yet to make his debut for Thomas Tuchel’s team.
Defender Dean Huijsen, who joined Real Madrid from Bournemouth in the summer, is also nominated.
A leading contender for the Golden Boy award is Paris St-Germain forward Desire Doue, who finished 14th in the Ballon d’Or vote after winning the Champions League with his club side.
Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jobe Bellingham is also a nominee after helping Sunderland reach the top flight via the play-offs before a move to the Bundesliga. Brother Jude of Real Madrid won the award in 2023.
Agyemang was a Euro 2025 hero for England, with the 19-year-old coming off the bench to score vital late equalisers against Sweden and Italy in the knockout stage as the Lionesses went on to successfully defend the trophy.
Those notable contributions earned her the Young Player of the Tournament award.
She joins Chelsea midfielder Wieke Kaptein and Manchester City midfielder Iman Beney on the 10-player shortlist for the women’s award.
Award winners are decided by a poll of 50 selected sports journalists from across Europe, with announcements to come on a date to be determined in November.
Golden Boy 2025 nominees:
Pau Cubarsi – Barcelona
Dean Huijsen – Real Madrid
Arda Guler – Real Madrid
Franco Mastantuono – Real Madrid
Desire Doue – Paris St-Germain
Warren Zaire-Emery – Paris St-Germain
Senny Mayulu – Paris St-Germain
Kenan Yildiz – Juventus
Ethan Nwaneri – Arsenal
Myles Lewis-Skelly – Arsenal
Jorrel Hato – Chelsea
Estevao – Chelsea
Lucas Bergvall – Tottenham Hotspur
Archie Gray – Tottenham Hotspur
Geovany Quenda – Sporting
Leny Yoro – Manchester United
Nico O’Reilly – Manchester City
Jobe Bellingham – Borussia Dortmund
Francesco Pio Esposito – Inter
Rodrigo Mora – Porto
Giovanni Leoni – Liverpool
Aleksandar Stankovic – Club Brugge
Eliesse Ben Seghir – Bayer Leverkusen
Victor Froholdt – Porto
Mamadou Sarr – Strasbourg
Golden Girl 2025 nominees:
Michelle Agyemang – Brighton, on loan from Arsenal
Iman Beney – Manchester City
Giulia Galli – Roma
Eva Schatzer – Juventus
Signe Gaupset – Brann
Smilla Holmberg – Hammarby
Felicia Schroder – Hacken
Wieke Kaptein – Chelsea
Nina Matejic – Zenit St Petersburg
Lily Yohannes – Lyon
