Barça star Ansu Fati among the candidates for Golden Boy award

Barcelona star Ansu Fati, Real Madrid duo Vinicius and Rodrygo Goes, Bayern Munich sensation Alphonso Davies and Borussia Dortmund's Erling Braut Haaland have been named among the 40 candidates for the Golden Boy prize, presented to the best U21 player each year. 

The Turin-based newspaper "Tuttosport", which has given the award since 2003, is looking for the successor to Atletico Madrid's Joao Felix, who claimed the prize in 2019. 

Spain's Ferran Torres, who signed for Manchester City this summer, and England youngsters Jadon Sancho (Dortmund) and Phil Foden (Man City) are also in the running. 

Ansu, 17, became the youngest player to score for Spain last week when he scored against Ukraine, breaking a record that had stood since 1925. His exploits with the national team come after a breakout season for Barça in which he scored seven league goals. 

One of his main rivals for the award will be Bayern's Davies, 19, who has emerged as one of the best left-backs in the world. He was part of the Bayern team that won the treble and was brilliant in the Champions League win over Barça last month. 

Haaland, who scored 44 goals last season for Red Bull Salzburg and Dortmund, is also among the favourites. 

The first-ever winner of the prize was the Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart and other past winners include Wayne Rooney, Lionel Messi, Cesc Fabregas, Isco and Kylian Mbappe.