Trent Alexander-Arnold Named Golden Boy Finalist

While it remains the most unfortunately-named award in the sport, being named Golden Boy is probably the most prestigious individual honour a young European footballer can aspire to, and today Trent Alexander-Arnold was named a finalist for 2018.

News of the final five for this year’s award is particularly noteworthy as Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe was left off the list despite winning the award last year, making the long-list, and being many people’s favourite to take home the award a second time.

Nobody has ever won the award twice, though, and the voters—a group including writers for Tuttosport, Bild, France Football, Marca, De Telegraaf, The Times, and others—appear to have decided that they want to avoid naming a two-time winner.

Along with Alexander-Arnold, this year’s five finalists are Roma’s Justin Kluivert, Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior, Milan’s Patrick Cutrone, and Ajax’s Matthijs de Ligt—the young defender who has been linked with a potential Liverpool move in recent weeks.

If Alexander-Arnold were to win the award he would become the second Liverpool player to win and the second English-born player, with Raheem Sterling and Wayne Rooney past recipients of the award.