FIFA Club World Cup standouts Dean Huijsen and Kenan Yildiz have been nominated for the Kopa Trophy, awarded to the world’s best player aged under 21.
Center-back Huijsen and left winger Yildiz flourished in the Juventus Next Gen set up, but experienced contrasting times under the then Juve head coach Thiago Motta.
Huijsen left for AFC Bournemouth in July 2024, after becoming an outcast under Motta, while it was Yildiz’s breakthrough season in the senior side at Juventus.
Amsterdam-born Huijsen made a move to the Premier League on a six-year deal, following a 13-game loan to AS Roma.
He got his chance when Bournemouth were depleted, with his outstanding performances attracting a plethora of suitors and earning international call-ups for Spain.
Huijsen tackled his former team-mates
Real Madrid signed Huijsen before the cash-rich Club World Cup, and he played against Juventus in what became a one-sided last 16 tie.
Yildiz’s meteoric rise resulted in seven goals from 34 Serie A appearances last term, although his form dipped for a short while after his representative Jorge Mendes started touting him as a superstar with a high transfer fee.
Already Juve’s youngest foreign scorer in Serie A in December 2023, he also became the club’s youngest player to score in the Champions League last September.
Yildiz surpassed the record of Alessandro Del Piero, who was 20 years and 308 days old when he scored against Borussia Dortmund in September 1995, by netting against PSV Eindhoven during the home 3-1 triumph.
Yildiz regained his form
Igor Tudor helped German-born Yildiz get his groove back, with the 20-year-old Turkish international finishing with a dozen goals from 54 appearances that included three strikes in the Club World Cup.
The elite group of 10 finalists comprises Ayyoub Bouaddi (LOSC Lille), Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona), Desire Doue (Paris Saint-Germain), Estevao (Chelsea), Dean Huijsen (Real Madrid), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), Rodrigo Mora (FC Porto), Joao Neves (Paris Saint-Germain), Lamine Yamal (Barcelona) and Kenan Yildiz (Juventus).
Yamal is expected to retain the coveted accolade he collected last year. The last Juventus player to scoop the Kopa Trophy was center-back Matthijs de Ligt in 2019 for his breakthrough season at Ajax before joining the Bianconeri.