Nine stars Chelsea signing Felix beat to 2019 Golden Boy award, including Haaland

As far as young talents go, Chelsea new boy Joao Felix has established himself as one of the best around.

At 19 years old, Atletico Madrid snapped him up from Benfica in a sensational £113million transfer in 2019.

No, at 23 years old, he has moved to the Premier League to join Chelsea, on loan for the rest of the season.

There is very little doubt over the talent that Felix possesses, and he was even rewarded for his efforts in a prestigious competition.

In 2019, the forward was the recipient of the Golden Boy award, an honour voted for by journalists to the best under-21 player in Europe.

Felix was just 20 at the time and was able to beat a whole host of other talented names to the pile.

The Chelsea loan star was top of the pile courtesy of a whopping 332 votes – but who did he beat to top spot?

talkSPORT.com takes a look…

The England international came in second with 175 votes.

Kai Havertz

Third place with 75 votes was German forward Kai Havertz – a man Felix will now team-up with at Chelsea – who was recognised for his efforts at Bayer Leverkusen.

He rose to become one of the finest young talents Germany has to offer, so much so that the Blues opted to sign him three summers ago.

Havertz would go on to score the winning goal in the Champions League final in his debut season, proving that the Golden Boy nominees are truly the best of the best.

Erling Haaland

Just one vote behind Havertz was Erling Haaland, who is now one of the greatest strikers on the planet.

The Norwegian moved from Molde to Red Bull Salzburg in 2019 and netted a multitude of goals before signing for Dortmund after just a year in Austria.

He now plays his football at Manchester City and Haaland is already on course to break all kinds of records in English football, with the 22-year-old on 27 goals for the season in all competitions, with 21 of those coming in the Premier League.

Matthijs de Ligt

Fifth in the standings was the Dutchman, now a Bayern Munich defender.

He won the Golden Boy award a year prior whilst at Ajax but was ranked lower after a move to Juventus.

Ansu Fati

The Spaniard, who had just turned 17 years old grabbed sixth place.

He was only just breaking onto the scene at Barcelona at the time and, although he was the man selected to inherit Lionel Messi’s iconic No.10 shirt at the Nou Camp, he is still waiting for a full-on breakthrough after injuries derailed his progress.

Phil Foden

Seventh on the list was City midfielder Foden, who is now regular starter for the reigning Premier League champions.

He was only breaking into Pep Guardiola’s side at the time but consistent good performances were rewarded with further appearances.

Foden is already on seven goals and three assists in the league this season, which includes a hat-trick against rivals United.

He finished in the same position the following year, certifying himself as a true, young talent.

Gianluigi Donnarumma

Due to his early rise to the top at 16, Italian international Donnarumma was still in the Golden Boy rankings in 2019.

Previously of AC Milan, the Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper helped guide his country to Euro 2020 glory two years after the award.

Nicolo Zaniolo

The Roma star finished ninth in the standings, and now makes over 30 appearances a season for the Serie A side.

He’s been linked with a Premier League transfer in the past, with Tottenham one of those rumoured to be keen.

Donyell Malen

And at number ten was Dortmund’s Malen, who featured for PSV Eindhoven at the time.

Things haven’t gone to plan for the Dutchman, though, and he has just one goal in 17 appearances this season for the German club.