Kopa Trophy 2022 nominees announced: Bellingham, Camavinga and Saka headline top 10

10:17 PM IST 12/08/22

The contenders for the title of best U21 player on the continent have been confirmed

The full list of Kopa Trophy 2022 nominees has been officially revealed by France Football after Barcelona midfielder Pedri became the third winner of the accolade in 2021, following in the footsteps of Kylian Mbappe and Matthijs de Ligt.

Pedri's 2021-22 campaign was disrupted by injury, however, and after Barca exited the Champions League at the group stage and struggled in La Liga, he misses out on a nomination this time around.

The Kopa Trophy will now go to a new face in October, with Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham among the favourites after another season of impressive progress in Germany.

The final nominees have been listed below, with familiar names included alongside a few up and coming prospects:

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Karim Adeyemi - Borussia Dortmund

Adeyemi enjoyed a breakout season at Red Bull Salzburg, scoring 23 goals in all competitions, before earning a summer move to Dortmund.
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Jude Bellingham - Borussia Dortmund

Bellingham grew into a leader at Dortmund over the course of the 2021-22 season, as the NXGN 2022 winner cemented his status as one of the world's best young midfielders.
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Eduardo Camavinga - Real Madrid

Having joined Madrid late in the summer transfer window, Camavinga took some time to get up to speed in Spain, but put in a number of game-changing performances off the bench in the latter stages of the Champions League.
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Gavi - Barcelona

Gavi went from not having played a professional game to starting for Spain in the space of around six weeks, and the Barca midfielder never looked back in an impressive debut campaign.
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Ryan Gravenberch - Bayern Munich

Gravenberch earned himself a summer move to Bayern after continuing his upward trajectory with a excellent individual season at Ajax.
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Nuno Mendes - Paris Saint-Germain

Nuno Mendes was signed on a loan-to-buy deal by PSG on transfer deadline day, and was immediately installed as the club's starting left-back, such is the Portugal international's potential.
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Jamal Musiala - Bayern Munich

Musiala continues to grow into a key figure in the Bayern attack, with many believing he is Thomas Muller's heir for both club and country.
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Josko Gvardiol - RB Leipzig

Gvardiol was superb during his first season at Leipzig, leading to the likes of Chelsea and Tottenham showing an interest in signing the Croatia defender.
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Bukayo Saka - Arsenal

Despite the disappointment of missing out on Champions League qualification, Arsenal were able to celebrate another superb season from homegrown superstar Saka in 2021-22.
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Florian Wirtz - Bayern Leverkusen

Wirtz managed to hit double figures for both goals and assists in 2021-22 despite a serious knee injury bringing his campaign to a premature end.