Ghana midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi named among nominees for 2026 Golden Boy award

[p]The 20-year-old [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/nordsjaelland/2wZHnGDH/"]FC Nordsjaelland[/a] midfielder, who was born on January 15, 2006, makes the shortlist after a breakthrough calendar year that has drawn attention from clubs and scouts across Europe.[/p][p]He was named the Danish Superliga Young Player of the Year for the 2025/26 season after a standout campaign for FC Nordsjælland, and followed that domestic recognition by scoring on his World Cup debut for the Black Stars against Panama in Toronto.[/p][p]The goal made [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/yirenkyi-caleb/INmgLCSF/"]Yirenkyi[/a] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ghana/nNBjHale/"]Ghana[/a]'s second-youngest scorer in World Cup history.[/p][embed guid="29444ad6-268c-481a-bfcf-001a678edb2f" url="https://x.com/_owurakuampofo/status/2077818065530519695?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][h2]Golden Boy Award[/h2][p]The Golden Boy Award was created by Italian sports newspaper Tuttosport in 2003 and is presented each year to the best male player under the age of 21 playing in one of Europe’s top leagues. It is widely regarded as one of the most important individual accolades for young footballers in Europe.[/p][p]Rafael van der Vaart was the inaugural winner in 2003, and the list of subsequent recipients is star-studded with the likes of Wayne Rooney (2004), Lionel Messi (2005), Cesc Fàbregas (2006), Sergio Agüero (2007), Kylian Mbappé (2017), Erling Haaland (2020), Pedri (2021), Gavi (2022), Jude Bellingham (2023), Lamine Yamal (2024) and Desire Doue (2025) all winning the award.[/p][p]No player is allowed to win the award more than once, meaning Doue and Yamal are ineligible to take the 2026 crown despite continued eligibility by age.[/p][h2]How the winner is selected[/h2][p]The 2026 edition features a new main-sponsor partnership with Transfermarkt, whose data platform has provided the scoring system for the initial 100-man shortlist.[/p][p]Selection into the list is based on a combination of on-field performance, potential, league and club strength, and market value.[/p][p]From this month onwards, the shortlist will be reduced by 20 names on the 20th of every month until a final list of 20 nominees remains.[/p][p]That final 20 will then be voted on by an international jury of 50 specialised journalists drawn from Europe’s leading sports publications, magazines and broadcasters.[/p][p]Each juror ranks their top five players from the final shortlist, with 10 points awarded for first place, seven for second, five for third, three for fourth, and one for fifth.[/p][p]The player accumulating the highest total is declared the winner, with the 2026 winner set to be announced at the traditional Tuttosport ceremony later in the year.[/p][h2]Yirenkyi joins select Ghanaian company[/h2][p]Yirenkyi becomes the latest Ghanaian to be shortlisted for the award. Mohammed Kudus, then playing for FC Nordsjaelland was nominated in 2020 before his move to Ajax.[/p][p]Felix Afena-Gyan and Kamaldeen Sulemana were both nominated in 2022 following breakthrough campaigns in Serie A and Ligue 1, respectively.[/p][p]The highest a Ghanaian has finished at the Tuttosport Golden Boy award is 26th place, achieved by Ernest Nuamah in the 2023 edition.[/p][p]Nominated while playing for Danish club FC Nordsjælland, he secured an index rating of 74.6, finishing higher on the shortlist than players like Alejandro Garnacho.[/p][p]Ibrahim Osman (2024) and Christopher Bonsu Baah (2023, 2024) have also been recent Ghanaian nominees on the prestigious list.[/p][image alt="Owuraku Ampofo" id="345f5fd0-6a26-4f45-8078-6462582c5da7" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="67076255-d6f5-4ae1-8010-d2e540e45049" original-width="1200" original-height="381" /]