Arsenal midfielder on Eric Chelle's radar among finalists for Golden Boy Award

Arsenal midfielder Ethan Nwaneri has been named among the finalists for the prestigious Golden Boy award, which celebrates the best under-21 football player in Europe who plays in a top-flight league.

The 18-year-old midfielder enjoyed a breakthrough 2024/2025 campaign with Arsenal, scoring nine goals and providing two assists in 37 appearances across all competitions.

His stellar performances earned him a place among the 25 finalists announced on Wednesday at the Badia di Sant’Andrea in Genoa. 

The shortlist features the top 20 players from the Golden Boy Index and five additional wild cards chosen by the editorial team of Tuttosport, the Italian newspaper that organises the award.

Nwaneri will compete against some of the brightest young talents in world football, including Paris Saint-Germain duo Desire Doué and Warren Zaire-Emery, Barcelona’s Pau Cubarsí, Manchester United’s Leny Yoro, Chelsea’s Estêvão Willian, and Real Madrid’s trio of Arda Güler, Dean Huijsen, and Franco Mastantuono.

The wild card category includes Borussia Dortmund’s Jobe Bellingham, Inter Milan’s Francesco Pio Esposito, FC Porto’s Rodrigo Mora, Liverpool’s Giovanni Leoni, and Club Brugge’s Aleksandar Stanković.

However, Barcelona prodigy Lamine Yamal was excluded from the list due to award rules, having already been included in the Roll of Honour of previous winners.

Despite Arsenal’s strong start to the 2025/2026 Premier League season, currently sitting top of the table with sixteen points, Nwaneri has found game time limited, featuring in just five matches across all competitions and totaling 235 minutes so far this campaign.

Born in England to Nigerian parents, Nwaneri has represented England at various youth levels but remains eligible to play for the Super Eagles, as he is yet to make a senior appearance for the Three Lions.

As extensively reported by allnigeriasoccer.com, Super Eagles manager Eric Chelle is monitoring the Hale End Academy graduate with a view to a potential call-up, should he decide to switch his international allegiance from England to Nigeria.

Final 25-man list for Golden Boy award

Pau Cubarsi, Barcelona
Desiré Doué, PSG
Dean Huijsen, Real Madrid
Kenan Yildiz, Juventus
Myles Lewis-Skelly, Arsenal
Warren Zaïre-Emery, PSG
Arda Güler, Real Madrid
Franco Mastantuono, Real Madrid
Ethan Nwaneri, Arsenal
Jorrel Hato, Chelsea
Geovany Quenda, Sporting
Estevao, Chelsea
Leny Yoro, Manchester United
Senny Mayulu, PSG
Nico O'Reilly, Manchester City
Eliesse Ben Seghir, Monaco
Victor Froholdt, FC Porto
Lucas Bergvall, Tottenham
Archie Gray, Tottenham
Mamadou Sarr, Strasbourg

Wildcards: 
Jobe Bellingham, Dortmund
Francesco Pio Esposito, Inter
Rodrigo Mora, FC Porto
Giovanni Leoni, Liverpool
Aleksandar Stanković, Club Brugge

Adeyemi Adewale

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