Fiorentina right-back Michael Kayode has been named the Best Young Italian Player in the 2024 Golden Boy awards.
Kayode was announced as the winner on the Golden Boy X handle on Wednesday.
“Best Italian Player Under 21 is MICHAEL KAYODE!
“Congratulation to @acffiorentina full-back for his incredible season!”
Born in Bergamo, Italy, to Nigerian parents, Kayode started his youth career at Juventus, where he remained for seven years until 2018.
The 20-year-old played the 2020–21 season with Serie D club Gozzano, with which he scored two goals and two assists in 34 matches, and gained promotion to Serie C.
Kayode joined Fiorentina after his spell in Serie D in 2021 and was integrated into their youth sector.With Fiorentina, he won one Coppa Italia Primavera and one Supercoppa Italiana Primavera.
On 19 August 2023, Kayode made his Serie A debut for Fiorentina in a 4–1 away victory over Genoa, and by the end of the season, Kayode had become a regular in Fiorentina’s first team with his performances reportedly attracting international attention from clubs around Europe, featuring heavily in Serie A and in the squad that reached the final of the UEFA Conference League.
He has only featured for the Italian junior teams and in July 2023, he decided the final of the 2023 UEFA European U-19 Championship, which Italy won 1–0 to Portugal.
On 17 October 2023 he made his debut with the Italy U-21, in the qualifying match won 2–0 against Norway in Bolzano.
Meanwhile, Barcelona Spanish winger Lamine Yamal was named the winner of the 2024 prestigious Golden Boy award.
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Yamal claimed the award following an outstanding season where he established himself as a key player for Barcelona and helped Spain win the UEFA European Championship, where he was named the tournament’s Best Young Player award.
In the Spanish topflight, Yamal contributed five goals and seven assists for Barcelona.
In other categories, Juventus and Turkey winger Kenan Yıldız was voted the best young player by fans, making him the fans’ favorite this season, Jorge Mendes received the award for best agent and Barcelona’s Vicky López won the best young female footballer under 21.
Also, Roma’s Giulia Dragoni was awarded the best young Italian female footballer, the Golden Player Award was given to Toni Kroos for men and Aitana Bonmatí of Barcelona for women, Antonio Percassi of Atalanta was honored as the best director, while Txiki Begiristain of Manchester City was named the best manager.
The Golden Boy award is presented by Italian football media outfit, Tuttosport, to the best young talent under 21 in European leagues.
The winners for this year’s award were announced in Turin, with Tuttosport’s director, Guido Vaciago, award creator Massimo Franchi, and former Real Madrid player Ivana Andrés in attendance.
The trophy ceremony will take place on December 16, 2024 in Turin.
