Arsenal v Sheffield United - Premier League — LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 04: Bukayo Saka of Arsenal celebrates after scoring his sides first goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Sheffield United at Emirates Stadium on October 04, 2020 in London, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Kirsty Wigglesworth - Pool/Getty Images)

Saka makes final 20 nominees for 2020 Golden Boy award

Oct 16, 2020

Bukayo Saka made the second stage of the Golden Boy 2020 shortlist this week, featuring in the final 20 candidates for the award.

Arsenal's English striker Bukayo Saka celebrates scoring the opening goal during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Sheffield United at the Emirates Stadium in London on October 4, 2020. (Photo by Kirsty Wigglesworth / POOL / AFP) — Arsenal’s English striker Bukayo Saka celebrates scoring the opening goal on October 4, 2020. (Photo by Kirsty Wigglesworth / POOL / AFP)

Back in June, Arsenal’s Trae Coyle, Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and William Saliba all featured on the initial longlist of 100 nominees for the Golden Boy award.

Only one of them made it through to the final 20, however, with Saka joining some strong competition.

Final 20 Golden Boy candidates: Bakker, Camavinga, David, Davies, Dest, Fabio Silva, Ansu Fati, Foden, Gravenberch, Haaland, Hudson-Odoi, Kulusevski, Rodrygo, Saka, Sancho, Szoboszlai, Tonali, Ferran Torres, Vinicius.

Saka is certainly impressing at the moment. He made his England debut last week, he scored in a Man-of-the-Match performance against Sheffield United the week before, and he’s only three games off his 50th Arsenal appearance a month after turning 19.

Despite often playing as a full-back or a wing-back, he also has 18 goal contributions already. He got 12 assists in his first full senior season and already has another at Wembley against Liverpool this campaign.

There are plenty of deserving candidates on the list above, so I wouldn’t necessarily expect Saka to win the final award. But it’s a sign of the respect he’s garnering at the moment. As long as he keeps performing for Arsenal, the individual awards will come.