Watford youngster Tom Dele-Bashiru included on latest Golden Boy shortlist

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This year’s Golden Boy shortlist has been whittled down from 80 to 40 and it might surprise Watford fans to hear they have a player on the list. 

The Golden Boy award celebrates the best player in Europe under 21, as voted for by journalists across the continent. 

Established by Italian newspaper Tuttosport in 2003, previous winners include the likes of Lionel Messi, Cesc Fabregas, and Kyllian Mbappe with Juventus and former Ajax captain Matthijs de Ligt the most recent winner. 

So it certainly a prestigious award to win. 

This year’s favourites include the likes of Atletico Madrid’s Joao Felix, Real Madrid attacker Vinicius Jr and Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho.

So Watford will be very pleased to have a name among the 40-strong shortlist. 

The player in question only joined the club in July. Tom Dele-Bashiru signed a six-year deal at Watford in the summer after his deal at Manchester City expired. The Nigeria under-20 international has so far managed just 18 minutes for the Hornets in a 3-0 EFL Cup win against Coventry City. So far he has not managed to make the bench for Watford’s torrid start to the new season. 

But his Golden Boy nomination highlights his reputation as a potential star and Watford fans will be hoping to see plenty more of him in the months to come.