FC Barcelona have a renowned tradition of developing and promoting youth talent, and the Catalan club is one of the world’s best in this regard. Some of the best players to have represented the club on the pitch have been developed at its academy, including Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, and Xavi Hernandez.
The current team also boasts of a number of highly rated youngsters, whom Xavi has promoted from the youth team, and made an integral part of the Barcelona first team. Gavi and Balde are prime examples of two such players.
Yamal enters the list for the Golden Boy award
Another player that developed at La Masia and has been gaining prominence for the last few months at Barcelona is the teenager, Lamine Yamal.
The young winger has made great strides since the last season, and in the last couple of weeks, has made a strong claim for a starting spot in the highly competitive squad under Xavi.
As Mundo Deportivo now has reported, the youngster is on track for another major achievement in his career. The report claims that Yamal has now entered the Golden Boy list.
The award and its likely winner
The Golden Boy is an award given by the newspaper Tuttosport, which recognizes the best under-21 footballer in a season. The award uses a statistical analysis of a data platform called Football Benchmark.
Currently, the list is made up of 40 candidates, but it will reduced to 20 in the coming weeks. A jury of journalists will select the best U-21 player in Europe, while there is another separate award given by the votes of the public.
FC Barcelona has regularly been represented on the podium for this award, and two of its players have held the Golden Boy title for its last two editions. Pedri won it two years ago, while Gavi won it the last year.
This time, Barcelona already had Alejandro Balde and Gavi on the list for the Golden Boy. Now, with Yamal’s entry, the chances of a Barcelona player winning this award have further increased, but the favorite for now remains the recent Real Madrid signing, Jude Bellingham.
