Golden Boy 2024: Projecting Jude Bellingham’s successor

Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham was crowned Europe's 'Golden Boy' on Monday evening at an awards ceremony which recognizes the best player under the age of 21 in Europe's biggest leagues over the calendar year 2023. And what a year it has been for England. international: he joined Madrid from Borussia Dortmund this summer for an initial fee of €103 million and broke the record for most goals scored in a player's first 15 matches at the club (14), previously held by Cristiano Ronaldo, Alfredo Di Stefano and Pruden (13).

Bellingham, 20, reportedly obtained 485 points out of a possible 500 in the vote (97%) — which are submitted by 50 journalists from some of the continent's most prestigious media outlets while the award was created by Italian newspaper Tuttosport — – ahead of Jamal Musiala from Bayern Munich and Lamine Yamal from Barcelona.

The Madrid star joins an illustrious list of past winners including: Gavi, Pedri, Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney and Kylian Mbappé. So you can see that while winning this award is no guarantee of future success, it is as close as you can get.

But which players could they challenge next year?

Bellingham himself offered three suggestions: his Real Madrid teammate Arda Güler, his former Borussia Dortmund teammate Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and his brother Jobe Bellingham, who would have to join a major European league in January to become eligible since he is currently playing in the Championship for Sunderland. .

With a little more objectivity, we have determined Europe's next generation of talented teenagers to put together an extremely early ranking of potential candidates.

– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (US)

A little housekeeping before we begin: only players under the age of 21 are eligible to win the prize and anyone who turns 21 in 2024 is excluded. So if you are wondering why Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen), Xavi Simons (RB Leipzig/PSG), Alejandro Balde (Barcelona), António Silva (Benfica), Rasmus Højlund (Manchester United), Levi Colwill (Chelsea) are not on this list, this is probably because they will be too old.

To be eligible, you must also play in one of the best European championships. So if, for example, the prodigious left-back Valentín Barco remains at Boca Juniors in 2024, he cannot be considered. You can't win it twice either – although the only previous winner who was still quite young would be Gavi, and much of the Barcelona midfielder's 2024 season will be spent recovering from a serious injury.

Without further ado, let's get to the list:

It's a bold call to give Vitor Roque the chance for the prize given he's yet to play a game in Europe, but he could make a wildcard run when he joins Barcelona from l 'Athletico Paranaense in January.

In any other year, a replacement for legendary striker Robert Lewandowski probably wouldn't have the chance to shine, but with concerns growing over the 35-year-old's form – he has scored just three goals since September – Vitor Roque could be added. basically. The Brazilian teenager has scored 21 goals in 45 games for his club this season and led Brazil to glory at the South American U-20 Championships before an ankle injury caused him to miss 10 games at the end of the year.

Vitor Roque will give Barcelona something different up front, offering dynamic dribbling and speed behind the defense, as opposed to Lewandowski's refined link-up play, although both share predatory goal-scoring instincts in the box.

Make no mistake: a lot needs to happen for him to compete for the 2024 Golden Boy Award. Part of it – like being signed up to play in La Liga by his financially struggling new club! — is not under his control. But his development at Camp Nou will be one to watch closely.

What Ferguson is doing is simply not normal. To lead the line for a major Premier League club at his age, with a physical and technical ability that puts seasoned veterans to shame, is a remarkable achievement. He is now a regular in the first XI – last season Brighton took their time as he only started 10 times – and his return of six league goals in 13 league matches so far is impressive.

Brighton have changed a lot since last season and are still finding their rhythm in places, but the No.9 position is nothing to worry about for manager Roberto De Zerbi. If Ferguson continues at this rate, not only will he comfortably reach double the number of Premier League goals by May, but he will also play a major role in the club's maiden UEFA Europa League campaign.

Neves is a retro footballer in more ways than one. Not only does his game focus on a high work rate, which allows him to cover every blade of grass for 90 minutes, but the way he tucks his shirt into his high shorts makes it look like he came straight from the mid-1990s.

At 5ft 7in, he may be small in stature, but his impact on the pitch is quite the opposite: he moves around and provides all manner of service, from firm tackling to flowing passes to fizzing shots from distance . The Benfica team, which won the Portuguese championship last season, lost a few players, such as Goncalo Ramos and Enzo Fernández, but the intervention of Neves allowed it to continue to purr.

The 19-year-old won't get the chance to impress in the latter stages of the Champions League, which is a bit of a blow to his Golden Boy hopes, but he will head into Euro 2024 with a Portuguese team that destroyed everything in their path during qualifying. And he is already linked with a big transfer this summer.

Barcelona continue to outdo themselves by integrating young players into the first XI. After Pedri became the key to this team at 18, they introduced 17-year-old Gavi into the equation; now, 16-year-old Lamine Yamal is a regular part of the team (and he made his debut last season at 15!)

Yamal has stunned everyone this year with how incredibly good he is and is already irrelevant in La Liga, both in goals and assists. The winger is as technically gifted as you would expect from a La Masia product, but the real genius of his game lies in how composed he is in the final third and how consistently he chooses the right option.

It's not particularly easy playing on the right wing for Barcelona, ​​as the way Xavi tilts the formation in possession often means the right back drops back into defense rather than overlapping and supporting the winger. Leaving a 16-year-old so isolated on the pitch flies in the face of conventional wisdom, but Yamal does it all lightly, suggesting he has some truly special skills.

The Spanish national team have also started counting on him and he is expected to play a role for them at Euro 2024, so given that he came second in the Golden Boy voting this year, it seems he has a very solid file. But if he doesn't win it in 2024, there will always be 2025, 2026 or 2027!

play

Laurens sees incredibly bright future for PSG's Zaire-Emery

Julien Laurens discusses the importance of 17-year-old Warren Zaire-Emery to Paris Saint-Germain, comparing him to Jude Bellingham at that age.

After cementing his place in Paris Saint-Germain's first XI this season, Zaire-Emery made his first start in France last month and scored his first goal in France, but then suffered an ankle injury which is expected exclude it until the new year. . Fortunately, that shouldn't cost him much in the Golden Boy stakes. Zaire-Emery's schedule is to return in early January, giving him a chance to play a full year for one of Europe's top clubs and a chance to make an impact for his country at Euro 2024. 'summer.

Even at 17, Zaire-Emery is already an essential midfielder for PSG. Indeed, seeing them turn the ball over in midfield and fall victim to heavy pressure against Newcastle United in the Champions League last week only underlined how critical his presence is.

For someone so young, it's amazing how physically ready he looks for top-level football. The way he takes on challenges and bounces off tacklers makes it look like he's been doing this for a decade. It's this balance and composed excellence, mixed with the odd shift pass or raspy long-range strike, that has made Zaire-Emery a leading candidate to win the Golden Boy Award in 2024 .

Honorable mentions

Lille defender Leny Yoro has every right to be on this list, because like Ferguson, what he is doing is not normal. At 18, he starts every week at centre-back for Lille, who play at the top of Ligue 1 and are a serious contender for victory in the UEFA Europa Conference League. But his biggest obstacle is that, rightly or wrongly, it is difficult for defenders to win this award – the only one to do so is Matthijs de Ligt, after a marvelous Champions League run with Ajax and a transfer of 75 million euros to Juve. If it's the bar, it's probably impossible for Yoro to hit it.

Manchester City right-back Rico Lewis and the Bayern Munich striker Mathys Tel have the talent to win this award, but the real question is whether they will get the opportunity. Playing for super clubs full of talent, they are short on minutes so far.

The Brazilian striker Endrick and midfielder Arda Guler (both soon to be Real Madrid teammates) could also suffer from this problem. Endrick will only arrive in Madrid (from Palmeiras for €72 million) next summer, while Güler is focused on getting fit again as he suffered an injury and has yet to play since his departure from Fenerbahce this summer.

Finally, another wild card in the style of Vitor Roque is the Girona winger. Savio, whose blistering form has helped the Spanish club pick up 38 points from 15 games and a surprise run at the La Liga title. Almost everyone expects them to give up, but if they don't, Sávio will suddenly be the center of this discussion.