Jude Bellingham ranked ahead of Gavi in coveted award

Real Madrid’s new signing Jude Bellingham has been the talk of most debates in recent days. Having been signed for over 100 million euros, there was a lot of theories and speculation about whether he will live up to expectation.

He needed less than a game to prove his quality at his home. In his first official game for Real Madrid against Athletic Club, the 20-year-old wowed fans with his impressive performance.

After the first four matchdays in many of Europe’s top leagues, his five goals in La Liga puts him on top of the competitions goalscoring chart.

Only the well recognized prolific striker Erling Haaland has scored more goals than the Englishman this campaign in the continent’s top five leagues.

He scored Real Madrid’s second goal of the game in the 36th minute and ended up with the Man of the Match award, his first in Spain.

The team’s attacking threat runs through him. His teammates find him whenever in possession.

Off to a flying start

In his first month as a Real Madrid player, he scored 4 goals in 3 games, with an assist to match. Bellingham was also named as La Liga’s player of the month and Real Madrid’s Player of the Month as well.

Those who doubted him at the beginning had a reason or two. The last English player to make a debut for Real Madrid was Jonathan Woodgate.

That debut will forever be on the minds of football fans. 516 days after signing for the club, he made his debut. Unfortunately, he scored an own goal and got two yellow cards.

But Jude is different, or Jude is Jude. He chose the number 5 shirt at Real Madrid, the shirt of his idol Zinedine Zidane.

During his official presentation in June, Jude mentioned: “I admire Zidane very much, his legacy in this club and with this number. I’m different. It’s a number that inspires me. The 22 has been my number for a long time, but now I will take the 5. We’ll see in the future.”

An award beckons

The Golden Boy Award was inaugurated in 2003. It is given annually to the most outstanding young footballer in Europe by the Italian sports weekly Tuttosport. Nominees must be under 21 and play in Europe’s highest professional league.

Other factors considered are, for this year the player should have been born on or after January 1, 2003. Number of matches, minutes and performances in European competitions will also be considered.

According to Marca, Jude Bellingham is in pole position to win the award this year.

Bayern’s Musiala is the second-placed ahead of Benfica talent Antonio Silva, Barcelona’s Gavi and Dutch sensation Xavi Simons.

The prize will be awarded before the end of this current year.

Several newspapers now participate in the voting process. These include Bild from Germany, Blick in Switzerland,  A Bola from Portugal, the well-known l’Équipe from France, France Football  also from France.

From Spain, there is Marca and Mundo Deportivo.

Previous winners 

Previous winners since 2013 include Paul Pogba, Raheem Sterling, Anthony Martial, Renato Sanchez, Kylian Mbappé, Matthijs de Ligt, João Felix, Erling Haaland, Pedri and Gavi.

Who wins it in 2023?