Four Germans and 11 Bundesligists remain in contention for "Golden Boy" award
Eleven Bundesliga players and four German talents remain in contention for Tuttosport's "Golden Boy" award after the lists of nominees was slashed down to 40 candidates on Thursday.
As is always the case on the 15th of each month, the list of players eligible for the "Golden Boy" award given out by Italy's "Tuttosport" newspaper was reduced by a further 20 candidates on Thursday. In the latest round of cuts, 26 players were actually removed from the running so that six more could appear. Freiburg's new French starting fullback Kiliann Sildillia benefits from this as a new nominee.
German players still in contention after the latest round of cuts include Jamal Musiala (FC Bayern München), Karim Adeyemi (Borussia Dortmund), Jan Thielmann (1. FC Köln), and Ansgar Knauff (Eintracht Frankfurt). Luca Netz (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Lazar Samardzic (Udinese), and Youssoufa Moukoko (Borussia Dortmund) have been dropped.
Mario Götze remains the only German player to have ever won the award. The current Eintracht professional collected the prize in 2011. The last Bundesliga player to take the award was Dortmund's Erling Haaland (Norway) back in 2020. Dortmund's Jude Bellingham (England) remains one of the big favorites to win this time, though Musiala should also be considered a strong candidate.
The list of Bundesliga 11 professionals still alive:
Jude Bellingham (Dortmund, England)
Karim Adeyemi (Dortmund, Germany)
Giovanni Reyna (Dortmund, USA)
Jamal Musiala (Bayern, Germany)
Ryan Gravenberch (Bayern, Holland)
Mathys Tel (Bayern, France)
Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig, Croatia)
Piero Hincapie (Leverkusen, Ecuador)
Ansgar Knauff (Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany)
Kiliann Sildillia (SC Freiburg, France)
Jan Thielmann (1. FC Köln, Germany)