Estevao Willian celebrates
Estevao Willian celebrates with his Chelsea teammates(Image: Richard Heathcote)
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Estevao Willian and Jorrel Hato have both been nominated for the 2026 Golden Boy award following impressive years for Chelsea and their countries.
The award, established by Italian sports newspaper Tuttosport, is given by sports journalists to the young footballer (all nominees must be the age of 21 and play in a European nation's top tier) they believe has been the best in the calendar year.
Estevao and Hato both had excellent spells during their debut seasons at Stamford Bridge last time around. While Estevao shone in the first half of the season but struggled for consistency in the second part, it was the exact opposite for Hato.
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After signing from Palmeiras, for an initial €34million (£28.8m) with potential add-ons taking the deal to €67m (£56.8m), Estevao was cautiously used by former Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca, who was keen not to throw the Brazilian teenager straight into the deep end at Stamford Bridge.
However, as time progressed, Maresca started to trust Estevao more and the 19-year-old was given a more significant role in the first team. Goals against Liverpool and Barcelona were undoubtedly the highlights for Estevao in his debut campaign at Chelsea before muscular injuries affected the second part of what was an overall positive first season in England.
As for Hato, the former Ajax defender, who signed for the Blues last summer for £37m, struggled to get to grips with the speed and physicality of the Premier League early on in his Chelsea tenure. From January onwards, though, basically from Liam Rosenior's appointment, Hato looked a different player.
Jorrel Hato
Jorrel Hato was excellent for Chelsea in the second half of last season(Image: Pedro Porru/MB Media)
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Hato performed so well in the second half of the season that Chelsea were more open to selling Marc Cucurella. When Real Madrid signed the Spanish left-back, Stamford Bridge insiders told football.london that Hato was set for a more significant role in the team in the 2026/27 campaign.
Since Behdad Eghbali took majority control of Chelsea in May 2022, which has now changed to full power following Todd Boehly and Mark Walter selling their stakes in the club last month, the Blues have focused on recruiting the world's best young talent.
Having two of the 25 nominees for the Golden Boy award is exactly the sort of thing Eghbali and the club's sporting leadership team have been after - having some of the world's most exciting youngsters at their disposal.
Hato and Estevao - for the second year on the bounce - are among the nominees. The winner will be announced at a press conference scheduled for November.
Estevao Willian celebrates
Estevao Willian celebrates scoring for Chelsea against Tottenham(Image: Saeed Khan - AFP)
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Full list of Golden Boy nominees
Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona/Spain)
Ayyoub Bouaddi (Manchester City/Morocco)
Warren Zaire-Emery (Paris Saint-Germain/France)
Yan Diomande (Real Madrid/ Ivory Coast)
Luka Vuskovic (Brighton/Croatia)
Victor Froholdt (Porto/Denmark)
Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal/England)
Rayan (Bournemouth/Brazil)
Jorrel Hato (Chelsea/Netherlands)
Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich/Germany)
Estevao Willian (Chelsea/Brazil)
Endrick (Real Madrid/Brazil)
Junior Kroupi (Bournemouth/France)
Gianluca Prestianni (Benfica/Argentina)
Konstantinos Karetsas (Borussia Dortmund/Greece)
Said El Mala (Koln/Germany)
Jon Martin (Real Sociedad/Spain)
Marc Bernal (Barcelona/Spain)
Kerim Alajbegovic (Juventus/Bosnia & Herzegovina)
Finn Jeltsch (Stuttgart/Germany)
Charalampos Kostoulas (Brighton/Greece)
Joane Gadou (Borussia Dortmund/France)
Franco Mastantuono (Fiorentina/Argentina)
Rodrigo Mora (Roma/Portugal)
Xavi Espart (Barcelona/Spain)
Previous Golden Boy winners
2025: Desire Doue (20)
2024: Lamine Yamal (17)
2023: Jude Bellingham (20)
2022: Gavi (18)
2021: Pedri (18)
2020: Erling Haaland (20)
2019: Joao Felix (20)
2018: Matthijs de Ligt (19)
2017: Kylian Mbappe (18)
2016: Renato Sanches (19)
2015: Anthony Martial (20)
2014: Raheem Sterling (20)
2013: Paul Pogba (20)
2012: Isco (20)
2011: Mario Gotze (19)
2010: Mario Balotteli (20)
2009: Alexandre Pato (20)
2008: Anderson (20)
2007: Sergio Aguero (19)
2006: Cesc Fabregas (19)
2005: Lionel Messi (18)
2004: Wayne Rooney (19)
2003: Rafael van der Vaart (20)