Tottenham’s Cameron Carter-Vickers is a contender to win the Golden Boy award.
Tottenham’s Cameron Carter-Vickers in action with Wycombe Wanderers’ Adebayo Akinfenwa
Tottenham’s academy has been praised in recent years, having helped bring through the likes of Harry Winks and Harry Kane, as well as a number of players elsewhere.
Ryan Mason, Andros Townsend, Nabil Bentaleb and Tom Carroll have all come up through the ranks at White Hart Lane, with manager Mauricio Pochettino giving chances to young players.
The likes of Kyle Walker-Peters, Joshua Onomah and Marcus Edwards are likely to make the step-up in the coming years, with Cameron Carter-Vickers another player touted for a bright future.
The centre back, born in Southend but committed to the United States at international level, has played four first-team games this season, and is highly regarded at White Hart Lane.
Now, the 19-year-old has been shortlisted for the Golden Boy award, as listed by Italian newspaper Tuttosport, with some stern competition facing Carter-Vickers for the accolade.
On a long list of youngsters, the likes of Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan), Timothy Fosu-Mensah (Manchester United), Tom Davies (Everton), Renato Sanches (Bayern Munich), Youri Tielemans (Anderlecht), Joel Asoro (Sunderland), Ousmane Dembele (Borussia Dortmund), Kasper Dolberg (Ajax), Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City), Ramadan Sobhy (Stoke City), Ben Woodburn (Liverpool) and Monaco’s Kylian Mbappe are all up for the award, alongside Carter-Vickers.
Juventus’ Paulo Dybala in action with Tottenham’s Cameron Carter Vickers
Previous winners of the award include Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney, Cesc Fabregas, Sergio Aguero, Mario Balotelli, Paul Pogba, Raheem Sterling and Anthony Martial, as well as former Spurs midfielder Rafael van der Vaart.
Spurs defender Carter-Vickers seems unlikely to win the award given the level of competition, but his nomination is another sign that Tottenham’s focus on youth development is well-placed under Pochettino.
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