Ghana’s Ernest Nuamah and Christopher Bonsu Baah, Ivory Coast’s Amane Romeo and Ousmane Diomande, and Morocco’s Bilal El Khannous are the African stars who made the 100-strong selection of youngsters vying for the 2023 Golden Boy award.
The Golden Boy is an annual award organised by Italian outlet, Tuttosport and presented to the best U-21 player based in Europe.
The previous winners include Manchester City’s Norwegian striker Erling Haaland and PSG’s French star Kylian Mbappe.
Ernest Nuamah – Ghana
The 19-year-old left winger had an incredible scoring in the Danish Superliga with his contribution of 12 goals in 30 matches for Nordsjaelland. Nuamah made his Ghana debut in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Madagascar in June 2023.
Amane Romeo – Ivory Coast
The 19-year-old midfielder plays in the Swedish Allsvenskan with Hacken and he scored three goals in 19 matches all competitions. He started his playing career in the Ivory Coast where he played ASEC Mimosas before leaving Europe in 2021.
Bilal El Khannous – Morocco
Morocco’s Bilal El Khannous plays in the Belgian First Division A with Genk and he made his international debut for the Atlas Lions at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar during the third-place match against Croatia. The 19-year-old was involved in six goals in the 2022-23 Belgian top-flight campaign.
Christopher Bonsu Baah – Ghana
18-year-old Bonsu Baah was born in Ghana and he made in his professional debut in April with Sarpsborg 08 in the Norwegian Eliteserien. He managed to score a goal in 10 matches during the campaign.
Ousmane Diomande – Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast defender Ousmane Diomande stamped his authority in the Portuguese Primeira Liga following a €7.5 million to Sporting Lisbon in January.
Diomande also displayed fine defensive performances in the UEFA Europa League knock-out phase against Arsenal and Juventus.
