Official: Real Madrid summer signing nominated for the 2025 Kopa Trophy | OneFootball

Real Madrid summer signing Dean Huijsen has been nominated for the 2025 Kopa Trophy award.

The 20-year-old centre-back, who joined Real Madrid in June from AFC Bournemouth in a deal worth €58 million, finds himself in the top ten contenders for the Kopa Trophy prize.

The Kopa Trophy is an award given to the best Under-21 footballer in the world, as voted by a panel consisting of former Ballon d’Or winners.

Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham won the Kopa Trophy back in 2023 while Arda Guler finished as the runner-up last year when Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal bagged the honour.

Now, Huijsen finds himself in contention to bag the top prize after enjoying a successful 2024/25 season on a personal level with Bournemouth, emerging as one of the most standout performers in the Premier League.

The youngster also performed well for the Spanish national team after breaking into the side and did well for Real Madrid at the FIFA Club World Cup.

Huijsen finds himself up against fellow defender Pau Cubarsi (Barcelona), Yamal (Barcelona), Desire Doue (PSG), Joao Neves (PSG), Kenan Yildiz (Juventus), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), Ayyoub Bouadi (Lille), Rodrigo Mora (Porto), and Estevao (Chelsea) for the prize.