Mbappe, Dembele, Jesus named finalists for Golden Boy award
The 25-man shortlist for the 2017 Golden Boy award has been whittled down to a final three of Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, and Gabriel Jesus.
Prominent names such as AC Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, Manchester United’s speedy teenager Marcus Rashford, and Borussia Dortmund’s precocious talent Christian Pulisic failed to make the cut.
Mbappe, Paris Saint-Germain’s explosive teenager, is a clear favourite to collect the Golden Boy gong. The French forward burst onto the scene last season for AS Monaco, inspiring the principality outfit to the Ligue 1 title and a run to the Champions League semi-fina. He’s now honing a potent partnership with Neymar and Edinson Cavani in PSG’s frontline.
Kylian Mbappé across all competitions in 2017:
42 games ?
24 goals ??
11 assists ??7 Champions League records broken. ? pic.twitter.com/MlU4V10teG
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) October 21, 2017
Dembele, who signed for Barcelona in the summer after establishing himself as Dortmund’s standout man in the 2016-17 term, will also vie for the prize with Manchester City marksman Jesus.
Previous winners include Lionel Messi, Paul Pogba, and Isco. Renato Sanches picked up the prize last year, and is now on loan at Swansea City from parent club Bayern Munich.
