The nominees for the 2025 Kopa Trophy have been revealed ahead of the prestigious Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris this September. Among these young talents, one will claim the accolade previously won by stars such as Kylian Mbapp\u00e9, Jude Bellingham, and Pedri. This year, one candidate aims to make history by becoming the first to win the prize twice.<\/p>\n
Seventeen-year-old Ayyoub Bouaddi has stepped into the spotlight with Lille, making 36 appearances in all competitions during the 2024\u201325 season, including nine in the Champions League. His composure and defensive skills have earned him recognition as a promising future star, even if he is not yet a frontrunner for the Kopa Trophy.<\/p>\n
Rodrigo Mora, an 18-year-old attacking midfielder, made a striking impression at Porto last season with 11 goals and four assists across 35 appearances. Known for his technical skill and creativity, Mora is likely to develop further at Porto before potentially challenging for the award in the future.<\/p>\n
Brazilian winger Est\u00eav\u00e3o impressed during his breakthrough at Palmeiras, registering 17 goal contributions before officially joining Chelsea in 2024. His performances at the FIFA Club World Cup showcased glimpses of the talent expected at Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n
Arsenal’s Myles Lewis Skelly has been pivotal in resolving the club’s left back concerns. Originally a midfielder, Lewis Skelly has thrived in defense, using his ability to invert and step into midfield to break opposing presses. With three senior England caps and a goal, his potential is vast.<\/p>\n
Kenan Y\u0131ld\u0131z, a forward with 84 appearances for Juventus by age 20, has boosted his goal tally significantly and impressed for Turkey at the European Championship. Despite his talents, several peers are currently seen as stronger contenders.<\/p>\n
Dean Huijsen, a central defender who left Juventus for Bournemouth, quickly established himself as a dominant force in the Premier League, earning a nomination for Young Player of the Season and securing a transfer to Real Madrid, who recognized his calibre.<\/p>\n
Pau Cubars\u00ed’s rise at Barcelona has been remarkable, featuring in 56 matches during 2024\u201325 and leading the club to a domestic treble through his defensive prowess and composure at just 18 years old.<\/p>\n
Paris Saint-Germain’s Jo\u00e3o Neves, part of a formidable midfield trio, impressed in his debut season with 17 goal contributions, demonstrating extraordinary technical ability and tactical intelligence.<\/p>\n
Finally, D\u00e9sir\u00e9 Dou\u00e9 made a memorable impact in the 2024\u201325 Champions League final with two goals and an assist. He has since displaced Bradley Barcola in PSG’s lineup, earning nominations for both the Ballon d’Or and Kopa Trophy, although the former is less likely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Profiling the promising 2025 Kopa Trophy nominees marking their rise in European football.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1355,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[646],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trophy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1356"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1357,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1356\/revisions\/1357"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}