Arsenal and Chelsea youngsters nominated for Kopa Trophy award | OneFootball

Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly joins Chelsea’s Estevao among the players nominated for the Men’s Kopa Trophy.

The Kopa Trophy, established in 2018 and named after Raymond Kopa, is an annual award to recognise the best male player under the age of 21 over the past season, and will be awarded on September 22 at the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris.

Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal was the deserved winner last season, honoured for his outstanding performances on the world’s biggest stages.

Here is the full list of nominees for this season:

Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal)

Since making his competitive debut against Manchester City in September 2024, Lewis-Skelly has continued to go from strength to strength.

Deployed as an inverted left-back under Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, the 18-year-old has impressed since breaking into the first team.

The teenager made history in March, becoming the youngest-ever player to score on his England debut during a 2-0 victory over Albania.

Dean Huijsen (Real Madrid)

It took just one Premier League season for Huijsen to attract interest from several top clubs, and after a remarkable breakthrough campaign with Bournemouth, the 20-year-old joined Real Madrid.

The Spain international made the switch from Juventus to England’s south coast in a £15 million move last summer, playing a key role in keeping seven clean sheets across 32 appearances for the Cherries.

What truly stood out about Huijsen, however, was his maturity beyond his age and his exceptional ability to distribute the ball from the back – qualities that earned him a move to Los Blancos in July.

Estevao (Chelsea)

Chelsea fans have every reason to be excited about their latest signing, who is the only nominee for the award who did not play in a European league last season.

The 18-year-old has officially joined the Blues for a reported £29 million, with an additional £22 million in potential add-ons.

A fully-fledged Brazil international, Estevao burst onto the scene with Palmeiras, impressing fans with his excellent dribbling and earning the nickname ‘Messinho’ – a culmination of Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho.

Chelsea got their first glimpse of their new winger at the Club World Cup, where he scored against his future club in a 2-1 defeat.

Other candidates

Ayyoub Bouaddi (Lille), Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona), Desire Doue (PSG), Rodrigo Mora (Porto), Joao Neves (PSG), Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) and Kenan Yildiz (Juventus) join Lewis-Skelly, Huijsen and Estevao on the list of nominees for the prestigious award.