Alen Halilović, Mario Pašalić and Marko Pjaca are contenders for the title
Three Croatian players have found themselves on the 40-strong shortlist to be crowned as Europe’s best young player or the Golden Boy award.
The nominations for this year’s prestigious Golden Boy award, which was first established by the Italian newspaper Tuttosport 12 years ago, features Alen Halilović, Mario Pašalić and Marko Pjaca.
The award, open to any players aged 21 and under, is voted for by journalists from 30 newspapers around the world including Bild, Marca, The Times, L'Equipe and others. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) was last year’s recipient.
Other previous winners include Lionel Messi (2005), Sergio Agüero (2007) and Mario Götze (2011).
