Wigan striker Will Grigg makes 37-man shortlist for Europe's best player; has as many votes as Paul Pogba

Will Grigg plays for Wigan Athletic

If you watched the Euros this summer then there is one tune you would have heard at least once. The song ‘Will Grigg’s on FIre’ did the waves during the tournament and even hit no 6 on the Itunes chart.

Will Grigg is a striker who plays for Wigan Atletic and the Northern Ireland team. The striker did not play a single minute during the tournament but was sung about in full volume in every single game. 

Now this craze has been elevated to the next level after it has been revealed the 25-year-old was named on the 37 man shortlist for UEFA’s Best player of the year award. The shortlist is decided by journalists who are on UEFA’s 55 member association.

The striker scored 25 goals in League One in 40 appearances as Wigan were crowned champions and gained promotion to the Championship. The striker managed to come 25th in the list of 37 players who were on the initial shortlist but missed out on the top 10 due to a lack of votes.

It is strange to see his name on this list after the likes of Jamie Vardy missed out completely. He has the same number of votes as Paul Pogba and more than Pierre-Emerick Aubamenyang who finished as second top scorer in the Bundesliga last season.

Fans were completely baffled by this revelation and it really is an unexpected turn of events. The striker is in the company of some big names on that list. The likes of Gonzalo Higuain and Robert Lewandowski are ranked just above the Latics man.

The list now has 10 names on it which include Luis Suarez Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Pepe and Toni Kroos. The final list will be trimmed down to 3 in August and then the winner will be announced when the group stages of the Champions League begins

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are widely expected to make the final 3-man shortlist. It will be a very tight call as to who might be the favourite to win this year's award with bot Ronaldo and Messi winning trophies with their clubs.