Manchester City's Nigerian Striker Challenges Mbappe, 98 Others For 2018 Golden Boy Award

German-born Manchester City striker of Nigerian descent Lukas Nmecha is in the running for the 2018 Golden Boy award after he was named on the 100-player longlist announced on Sunday, July 1.

The 19-year-old is the only player of Nigerian decent that has been included on the list of candidates for the 16th Golden Boy award.

The award, which was established by Turin-based sports daily Tuttosport, recognizes the best U21 players in Europe over the course of a calendar year and includes votes from leading newspapers  Bild (Germany), Blick (Switzerland), A Bola (Portugal), l'équipe (France), France Football (France), Marca (Spain), Mundo Deportivo (Spain), Ta Nea (Greece), Sport Express (Russia), De Telegraaf (Netherlands), and The Times (United Kingdom).

Kylian Mbappe (PSG), Reiss Nelson (Arsenal), Callum Hudson-Odoi (Chelsea), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool),
Matthijs De Ligt (Ajax), Nanitamo Ikone (Montpellier), Achraf Hakimi (Real Madrid), Pietro Pellegri (Monaco) and Justin Kluivert, (Roma) are among the 100 players nominated for the prestigious award.

Lukas Nmecha made his professional debut for Manchester City in a League Cup clash vs Leicester City in December 2017, and finished last season with three appearances for the first team.

City stars Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero are previous recipients of the Golden Boy award.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : mancity.com