The Nominees for the Kopa Trophy – Everything You Need to Know About Each Player's Season

The young Bosnian spent the 2025/26 season at RB Salzburg in Austria before making a big summer move to Italian giants Juventus for a fee of £27m. The Bosnian international made 44 appearances for Salzburg last season, scoring 13 goals and making four assists, whilst averaging a 7.3 match rating across the season. Embed from Getty Images He also made his senior Bosnia and Herzegovina debut and scored his first international goal, marking another major step in his development. The exciting winger will certainly be one to watch out for in the Serie A this season and will be very interesting to see how he can adapt, potentially scoring more goals than his breakout season last year. Embed from Getty Images The Moroccan international burst onto the scene more prominently during the 2026 World Cup, aiding Morocco to the quarter-finals before losing out to France. He dominated the midfield across multiple games, earning his £86m transfer to Man City after the tournament. The 18-year-old midfielder spent the 2025/26 season with French side Lille, making 42 appearances, guiding them to Champions League qualification by one point with a third-place finish in Ligue 1. Bouaddi has made a promising start to his Man City career so far, making an exciting cameo in his debut against Crystal Palace, but is still waiting for his full debut, with Elliott Anderson making the starting spot his own. With much of his career still to come. He will definitely be one to keep an eye on as he has all the attributes to become one of the best in the world. Embed from Getty Images The Spanish defender had a very strong 2025/26 season for Barcelona, establishing himself as one of the clubs's most important young defenders at just 19 years old. He made 48 appearances in all competitions, starting 45 matches and contributing one goal and four assists, while helping Barcelona win La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup. The World Cup was nothing short of incredible for the young star, taking home the Young Player of the tournament as Spain took home their second World Cup victory, with the central defender pivotal to their performance throughout. This season became a major step in quality for Cubarsi as he went from being a promising teenage talent to an already world-class defender performing at an impressively high level. Embed from Getty Images Yan Diomande had a breakthrough 2025/26 season with RB Leipzig, establishing himself as one of the Bundesliga's standout young attackers. In his first Bundesliga campaign, the 19-year-old winger scored 12 goals and provided 8 assists in 33 league appearances, contributing directly to 20 goals and helping Leipzig finish third and qualify for the Champions League. His pace, dribbling, quick feet and ability to take on defenders made him a constant threat, while his work rate and counter-pressing also impressed his coaches. He became the fourth-youngest player ever to score 10 or more Bundesliga goals in a season and was recognised as one of the league's breakout stars. For his success, Diomande earned a £120m move to Spanish giants Real Madrid, now playing alongside some of the world's best attackers. Embed from Getty Images The young German forward had a breakthrough 2025/26 season with Bayern Munich, emerging as one of European football's most exciting young attacking talents. At just 18, he made 26 Bundesliga appearances, scoring five goals and providing four assists, while also scoring four goals in the Champions League. He produced several standout moments, including becoming the youngest player ever to score in three consecutive Champions League matches and played a key role in Bayern's successful Bundesliga title campaign. His dribbling, finishing, creativity and confidence made him an increasingly important player for Vincent Kompany, while his performances also earned him his first senior Germany caps. However, a thigh injury interrupted his season towards the end; Karl's campaign was a huge breakthrough and established him as one of Bayern's most promising young players. Although he didn't make an appearance at the 2026 World Cup. It will definitely not be long before the German makes his debut on the biggest stage of them all and could well become one of the most influential players in the Germany side. Embed from Getty Images The French youngster had a breakthrough 2025/26 season with Bournemouth, establishing himself as one of the Premier League's most exciting young forwards. The 19-year-old made 33 Premier League appearances and scored 13 goals, with his goalscoring making him Bournemouth's top scorer for the season. His pace, movement, technical ability and finishing made him a dangerous attacking player, while his work rate and pressing also suited Andoni Iraola's style. Kroupi's performances were particularly impressive considering he was still adapting to regular top-flight football and he finished the campaign as one of the standout young players in the league. Overall, 2025/26 was a major breakthrough season, with Kroupi showing that he has the potential to develop into a high-level Premier League striker and with Marco Rose joining Bournemouth after Iraola's departure. The striker will become a key player in the frontline and will definitely be on many top clubs radars come the end of the season. Embed from Getty Images Lamine Yamal had a sensational 2025/26 season with Barcelona, taking another major step towards becoming one of the best players in the world. At just 18, he scored 16 goals and provided 11 assists in 28 La Liga appearances, helping Barcelona win the league and earning the La Liga Player of the Season award. He was a constant threat because of his incredible dribbling, creativity, finishing and ability to create chances, while also becoming increasingly important as Barcelona's main attacking outlet. He also scored four goals and provided four assists in the Champions League, although Barcelona were eliminated in the quarter-finals. He then capped off an outstanding year with Spain at the 2026 World Cup, helping them win the tournament by beating Argentina 1-0 in the final and becoming a world champion at just 19. Overall, 2025/26 was arguably Yamal's best season yet as he combined outstanding individual numbers with another La Liga title and established himself as a genuine Ballon d'Or-level player at only 18 years old. Yamal has also won this award twice already and could become the only player to win the award three times. Embed from Getty Images Johan Manzambi had a breakthrough 2025/26 season with Freiburg, establishing himself as one of the Bundesliga's most exciting young midfielders. The 20-year-old made 27 Bundesliga appearances, scoring 5 goals and providing 4 assists, while also contributing 2 goals and 2 assists in the Europa League, helping Freiburg reach the competition's semi-finals. His physicality, technical ability, ball-carrying and versatility made him an increasingly important player for Freiburg and his performances earned him regular involvement with Switzerland. He also had a memorable international year, scoring three goals for Switzerland in 2025 before playing at the 2026 World Cup, where he scored and assisted in Switzerland's 2-1 win over Canada. Manzambi's season was a huge breakthrough campaign, as he went from promising young midfielder to an established Bundesliga player and full Swiss international, before making a switch to Aston Villa in the Premier League and Champions League at Villa Park. Embed from Getty Images The Algerian youngster was brilliant in a strong first season with Bayer Leverkusen in 2025/26, making the step up from the 2. Bundesliga to the Bundesliga at just 20 years old. He made 28 league appearances, scoring 3 goals and providing 4 assists, while showing his technical quality, creativity and ability to play between the lines. Maza also continued to establish himself internationally with Algeria, scoring twice at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. Overall, it was a promising debut Bundesliga campaign in which he gained valuable experience at a higher level and showed that he has the technical ability and attacking creativity to become an important player for Leverkusen. He has also made a strong start to this season, already bagging a goal and assist in the first two games in the Bundesliga. Embed from Getty Images The French midfielder had another important season with Paris Saint-Germain in 2025/26, continuing his development into one of Europe's most highly rated young midfielders. The 20-year-old made 32 Ligue 1 appearances, scoring 3 goals and providing 4 assists, while playing a significant role in PSG's midfield. That significant role in the midfield was proven with 61 appearances across the season, including 17 Champions League appearances. His combination of athleticism, ball-carrying, defensive work and technical ability made him a versatile option. He continued to gain valuable experience in the Champions League as PSG competed at the highest level. Overall, 2025/26 was another positive step in Zaïre-Emery's development, as he became an increasingly established member of the PSG first team and continued to demonstrate why he is regarded as one of France's brightest young midfield talents.