USMNT youth starlet Kevin Paredes has been named alongside Liverpool and Manchester United wonderkids on this year's coveted Golden Boy longlist.
In previous years US prospects have made the list — which is compiled by Tuttosport of the best 100 players under the age of 21 currently playing in Europe — with the likes of Valencia's Yunus Musah and Borussia Dortmund’s Giovanni Reyna making the cut last time. Before that, national team talisman Christian Pulisic and former PSG forward Timothy Weah also were listed among the continent's most promising prospects.
This year, however, Wolfsburg wide midfielder Paredes is the only American to make the selection, with his performances in the Bundesliga having caught the eye over the past 12 months. The 20-year-old ace made 22 appearances for Die Wolfe last term, building on his couple of outings in the previous campaign.
The versatile Virginian star scored once in the German top flight and notched up three assists, while featuring on both flanks for Niko Kovac's outfit last season. In something of a breakout season at the top level, he proved himself to be a potential star in making for the USMNT, appearing for his national U-20s team on eight occasions over the past year.
He moved to Germany in the winter transfer window of 2022 for approximately $7.4 million (£5.8 million) after making his name in his homeland with D.C. United, where he made 41 outings in MLS, scoring three times. The Loudoun United academy product was picked up by the Washington DC club after playing four times for his boyhood team.
Of course, the youngster is a rank outsider for the gong, with the likes of new Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham, Barcelona's midfield maestro Gavi and Bayern Munich’s emerging talent Jamal Musiala the frontrunners for the prize. There will also be competition from Premier League wonderkids such as Liverpool's Stefan Bajcetic and Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho in this regard.
On top of this, Brighton has four players — Facundo Buonanotte, Julio Enciso, Evan Ferguson, and Kacper Kozlowski — while Chelsea are able to boast three in the form of Levi Colwill, Lewis Hall and Carney Chukwuemeka. Manchester City also have two players on the list with Maximo Perrone and Rico Lewis having been named.
Previous winners of the award include greats of yesteryear including Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney, as well as stars of this generation such as Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland. To date, no American has won the award, however.
Speaking of his pride at winning the Golden Boy award back in 2022, current holder Gavi expressed his gratitude at being named alongside the former Barcelona icon Messi and his fellow La Masia graduate Pedri.
Last year, he told Mundo Deportivo: "It is a source of pride to take over from Pedri and receive awards that Messi, who is a great reference and, for me, the best player in history, also won.
Further explaining his admiration for Pedri, he added: "What can I tell you about Pedri? He is a phenomenon that helps me a lot and I am very grateful to him."
Opportunity knocks for Paredes but, for now, the prodigy seems content with gaining experience in one of the world's top five leagues under the tutelage of a respected manager like Kovac. He told MLS Soccer: “Even me, I’m not sure where my best position is at.
"All of it is okay with me, learning new positions. [Nico Kovac] throws me sometimes at the No. 10 or 8 in games. They have full confidence in me to play wherever on the pitch."
