Golden Boy and Girl: England star Michelle Agyemang, Nico O’Reilly and Estevao nominated

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.

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 Mtaejic – Zenit St Petersburg

• Lily Yohannes – Lyon

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