“I think the winner will come out of” – Philipp Lahm makes prediction about 2022 Golden Boy award
Former Germany and Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm feels this year's Golden Boy award could go to any of the Bundesliga players.
On Wednesday, Tuttosport released their 100-player shortlist for the award, of which 20 ply their trade in the German top-flight.
In comparison, the Premier League has only 10 representatives, including Manchester United duo Amad Diallo and Anthony Elanga and Liverpool starlet Harvey Elliott.
Among the Bundesliga nominees, Borussia Dortmund are repping the highest number of players with six, followed by champions Bayern with a close four.
100 players nominated for Tuttosport's Golden Boy 2022 award. https://t.co/fPGzK5jFe6
RB Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Monchengladbach have all received two nominations each.
Lahm feels the Golden Boy prize for 2022 will be awarded to someone from the Bundesliga, given the sheer quality of these stars.
Speaking to Tuttosport, he said:
"I think the winner will come out of the group of boys who play in the Bundesliga. I immediately noticed that there are many: [Jamal] Musiala, [Karim] Adeyemi, [Jude] Bellingham, [Adam] Hlozek, [Ryan] Gravenberch, [Brian] Brobbey, [Jayden] Braaf, [Ansgar] Knauff, [Luca] Netz, [Aster Jan] Vrancks."
He added:
"And again, scrolling through the list, [Youssoufa] Moukoko, [Giovani] Reyna, [Tanguy] Nianzou, [Giorginio] Rutter, [Josko] Gvardiol, [Piero] Hincapié, [Ilaix] Moriba, [Joe] Scally, [Mats] Thielemann, [Marcin] Kaminski, [Timothy] Tillman."
Leverkusen's rising star Florian Wirtz made a fine start to the 2021-22 campaign with Die Werkself, netting 10 goals and making 14 assists from 31 games.
However, a cruciate ligament damage in March jeopardized his run, ruling him out for the rest of their season.
It certainly played a role in denying him a place on the list and Lahm regrets that he couldn't make the cut. He further added:
"A pity the serious injury of our talent Florian Wirtz who had already performed well in the last edition of the Golden Boy just touching the podium."
However, the World Cup winner is unsure who will win the prize but hopes to be at the ceremony in Turin.
"But I'm curious to know who will triumph and I hope that Tuttosport will invite me to the awards ceremony in the autumn in Turin."
Bundesliga stars to face competition from their La Liga counterparts for Golden Boy award
While Bellingham and Reyna are among the strongest candidates, they will certainly face competition from La Liga's young guns such as Pedri and Edouardo Camavinga.
Barcelona have had FIVE players nominated for the Golden Boy award, their future is now 👶💪 https://t.co/VmJupTIQr7
Camavinga won three trophies with Real Madrid last season, including a league and Champions League double, while Pedri was the star performer for an otherwise catastrophic Barcelona side. It remains to be seen who will win this year's Golden Boy award.