Young Liverpool duo Dominic Solanke and Joe Gomez are on a 25-man shortlist for the European Golden Boy award, with the Reds the only club to have two players in the running.
The European Golden Boy has been awarded by Italian outlet Tuttosport since 2003, with the likes of Lionel Messi, Isco and Raheem Sterling—while still at the Reds—all winning the prize since Rafael van der Vaart took the first title.
It is awarded to the under-21 player voted as having had the best calendar year, with other national newspapers from other countries also voting including Bild, l’Equipe, the Times and Marca.
Solanke, who joined from Chelsea this summer, and Gomez, back in the side after more than a year recovering fully from an ACL injury, are among six Premier League-based hopefuls in the running.
Among the front-runners for this year’s award are Kylian Mbappe, now of PSG, and Ousmane Dembele, newly of Barcelona.
Gianluigi Donnarumma of Milan, Gabriel Jesus of Manchester City and Monaco’s Youri Tielemans are other notable inclusions.
Solanke played a big part in England’s successful U-20 World Cup victory in the summer, scoring four times and being awarded the Golden Ball, the player of the tournament.
Gomez has recently been awarded the captaincy for the England U-21 side and is becoming an influential first-team performer at Anfield at right-back in the absence of Nathaniel Clyne.
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