Who deserves the Golden Boy 2018 award most?

Tuttosport have whittled down the shortlist for their prestigious ‘Golden Boy’ award – bestowed to a footballer playing in Europe under the age of 21 – to five names with the victor to be revealed on December 17.

The renowned Italian newspaper since 2003 have been handing out the prize with the recently retired Rafael van der Vaart earning the distinction of being the inaugural recipient. Since then it’s been a who’s who of winners including five-time Ballon d’Or holder Lionel Messi.

Given how the award has grown it’s become sought-after but equally heavily debated. Kylian Mbappe, the current holder, despite an incredible year – and doesn’t turn 20 until next month – will not be defending his title as he didn’t quite make the final five.

So, who are they? Mbappe’s successor will be one of the following: Justin Kluivert (Roma), Matthijs de Ligt (Ajax), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Vinicius Jr. (Real Madrid) or Patrick Cutrone (AC Milan).

Each, who have enjoyed a good 2018 (some more so than others), hold a claim to follow in the footsteps of Van der Vaart and Mbappe which is where our writers come in.

Justin Kluivert (AS Roma) – Ben Green

One of the most iconic names in world football, Kluivert Jr. has been living up to expectation and doing his father’s name proud after exploding onto the scene with Ajax last season.

The teenage talent was one of the fulcrums of Ajax’s second-place finish, netting double digits in the Eredivisie from out wide and subsequently earning himself a call-up to the Netherlands national side, to which he made his debut in March.

Kluivert’s ascent has been remarkable, but not unwarranted, with his performances receiving widespread adulation, as the fledgling winger combines speed and vision with awareness and composure; his technique and dribbling ability are also reminiscent of his father’s former traits.

In fact, such was his brilliance that Roma made a move for him in the summer, and while Kluivert is yet to light up Serie A, his potential remains boundless, and time is very much on his side.

Matthijs de Ligt (Ajax) – Mohamed Moallim (@iammoallim)

It’s hard to believe Matthijs de Ligt is 19 when he plays like a seasoned professional. The native of Leiderdorp, who graduated from Ajax’s esteemed youth academy, embodies all the attributes to become a central defender par excellence.

Such is De Ligt’s natural charisma he recently was named Ajax’s youngest-ever captain. There’s a reason why mega-rich clubs like Barcelona, Juventus and Manchester City are keeping tabs. He’s the next big thing. De Ligt is cut from the very same cloth as his eminent predecessors and thus upholds a proud lineage that stretches back across the past half-century.

He deserves to succeed Kylian Mbappe because they are the same; both represent the leaders of a new era, if Mbappe is Ronaldo’s spiritual heir then De Ligt is a representation of those immortal centre-halves who duelled the great Brazilian, and we’ve already seen these two battle. Imagine what the next decade hold.

Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) –  Jack Sear (@JackSear)

What a year it’s been for this man.

At the start of last season, Alexander-Arnold was still very much seen as an U23s player with a lot of potential, but an injury to Nathaniel Clyne gave him numerous opportunities to impress at right-back and since then he’s nailed down the position as his own.

There’s some debate as to whether he will eventually end up in midfield, but for now, Alexander-Arnold offers everything Jurgen Klopp wants in a full-back. The 20-year-old was a huge beneficiary of Liverpool’s European run last season and went on to play in the final.

His good form for Liverpool earned him a deserved place in Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad. Last week he scored his first senior international goal against the USA. Alexander-Arnold is far from the finished article and he is without a doubt one of the best young footballers in Europe.

Vinicius Jr. (Real Madrid) – Sam Long (@samuelplong)

The pressure on Vinicius Junior’s shoulders is extreme – and he deserves huge credit for coping with it thus far. Real Madrid paid £39.6 million for his services when he was still just 16, despite the fact he had made just one senior appearance for Flamengo.

He finally made the move to Spain in the summer and Madrid resisted the temptation to drop him straight into the deep end. But his spell with the Castilla side proved to be short-lived and he has made the step up to the first-team fold seamlessly under new manager Santiago Solari.

Other players in contention for the award may have played significantly more senior games than the Brazilian, but none of them possesses greater potential. The 18-year-old may not be an obvious choice at present as he remains an unknown quantity to many, but do not expect him to be shrouded in mystery for long.

Vinicius will not go down as another Martin Odegaard.

Patrick Cutrone (AC Milan) – Nathan Bliss (@Nathan_Bliss14)

AC Milan have certainly had some great strikers over the years, including the likes of Andriy Shevchenko, Filippo Inzaghi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. However, in recent years, they’ve not been able to find a forward who can propel them back to their former glory. However, there’s a new kid on the block who’s getting the Rossoneri fans very excited, and his name is Patrick Cutrone.

Last season, in what was the Italian youngster’s first season of senior football, he scored 18 goals in 46 appearances in all competitions for Milan, finishing as the club’s top goalscorer ahead of £33.8m signing Andre Silva. And although he’s found starts hard to come by in this campaign, the 20-year-old has still managed an impressive return of 5 goals in just 4 starts in all competitions.

The talented striker isn’t blessed with blistering pace, but he does have terrific movement and superb football intelligence, often finding himself in the right place at the right time inside the box. He keeps things simple but is very, very effective. A great prospect for club and country.

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