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Where Are The 2015 Golden Boy Nominees Now
Blogs

Where Are The 2015 Golden Boy Nominees Now

12/02/25 13:39

Where Are The 2015 Golden Boy Nominees Now?

The Golden Boy is a prestigious award for players aged 21 and under and winning it demonstrates that the player has unlimited potential. Even being nominated suggests that the wider footballing community believes that the youngster will go on to be one of the world’s best players. 10 years ago, much like today, there were many names being tossed around as the next big thing, but many didn’t make it at the highest level. Here are the 10 Golden Boy nominees from 2015, and where they are now.

Nathan Ake - Manchester City

Back in 2015, Nathan Ake was playing for Reading on loan from Chelsea. At 20-years-old, he was already around the Blues’ first team, but it was decided that he would go out on loan to better develop his career. Initially a left sided centre back, it was while he was on loan at Watford in 2016 that he was first used as a full back. Chelsea decided in 2017 that he wasn’t in their future plans and so they sold him to fellow Premier League side Bournemouth for £20m.

He played 121 times for the Cherries across three years and is fondly remembered by their fans as one of their best ever players. He scored the winner in a memorable 4-3 victory over Liverpool, cementing himself in Bournemouth history. In 2020, he moved to Manchester City following the Cherries’ relegation, and has since been a stable option in defence for the best team in the world. He has certainly lived up to his hype, even if it took some time for him to get there.

Dele Alli - Como

In 2015, at the time of the Golden Boy awards, Dele Alli was just 18 years old and off the back of a very successful time at MK Dons, where he started his career. He won a total of five individual awards at the Dons, including their young player of the year award for 2013/14 season as well as the EFL Young Player of the Year for the following season. A move to Tottenham followed where the midfielder played a total of 269 games.

He was an incredible purchase for Spurs as he played in midfield during one of their best periods in recent history, reaching an EFL Cup final and a Champions League final. However his form declined and under Antonio Conte it was decided that he would be transfer listed. Everton signed him but he was unable to recapture his form there, so he was loaned out to Besiktas before he was sold to Como last month. In 2023 he opened up about his childhood abuse and poor mental health on the Overlap podcast. Still just 28, every football fan is hoping that he can reignite his career in Italy.

Hector Bellerin - Real Betis

Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin was already a major player in the Arsenal squad at the time of the Golden Boy awards in 2015. He joined the Gunners’ academy in 2011 from Barcelona and made his debut for them in 2013 before being sent on loan to Watford. After a successful loan spell, Bellerin started making regular appearances for the Gunners, and even started the 2015 FA Cup final against Aston Villa.

His best days at Arsenal were between 2015 and 2018, in which he started almost every league game and won another FA Cup. The 2018/19 season was a nightmare for Bellerin as two separate injuries saw him miss the start and the end of the campaign, as well as the beginning of the next one too. In 2021, he was loaned out to Real Betis before he was sold the following year to Barcelona. He didn’t make an impact at his boyhood club, so he moved to Sporting CP and then back to Betis where he has made over 40 appearances in two seasons for them.

Jordan Ibe - Hungerford Town

Jordan Ibe’s career has been in freefall ever since he was nominated for the Golden Boy award in 2015. At the time he had finished a successful loan spell with Derby County and was at his parent club Liverpool where he was hoping to make an impact. Liverpool had picked him up from Wycombe Wanderers where he had come through their academy and made his debut at just 15 years old in 2011.

Bournemouth decided to sign him in 2016 for £15m, but he lacked consistency in their starting XI and was dropped to the bench for much of his time at the club. He scored just five times in 92 appearances for the club before hopping between Derby County, Adanaspor, Ebbsfleet United, Hayes and Yeading United and most recently Hungerford Town in the seventh tier of English football. Despite being a winger, he has scored just 17 goals in his 14 year long career.

Kelechi Iheanacho - Middlesbrough

In 2015, Kelechi Iheanacho was just 19 but was already drawing the attention of football fans world wide. He joined Manchester City at the beginning of the year, but had to wait until the 2105/16 season to make his first appearance for the squad. He ended the season having scored a goal every 94 minutes, giving him the best minutes per goal ratio in the league. Despite this, he was unable to nail down a starting spot for Manchester City, and so he joined Leicester in 2017.

At Leicester, Iheanacho was in and out of the starting XI a lot, because of Jamie Vardy’s continuing form in the top flight. He helped them reach the FA Cup final in 2021 by scoring the only goal in their semi-final victory and lifted the trophy with them after beating Chelsea at Wembley. After seven years at the club, the Nigerian striker joined Sevilla in the summer. He has failed to impress there so far in this campaign, and was sent on loan to Middlesbrough in January.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek - AC Milan

Like Nathan Ake, Ruben Loftus-Cheek was a highly rated Chelsea player in 2015, having made three league appearances in the 2014/15 season. His development at Stamford Bridge was slow, only making a few substitute appearances here and there before being sent out on loan to Crystal Palace in 2017. Upon his return, he saw an increase in his involvement in the side until he suffered a season long injury that kept him out of almost all of the 2019/20 campaign.

This injury saw him lose his place in the Chelsea team, as he was then loaned out to Fulham before being sold to AC Milan in 2023. His time at Milan has been successful as the Rossoneri fans have taken to him, especially after he scored a brace in a Europa League knockout playoff match. This season, his game time has been severely reduced, not helped by an injury that has sidelined him since December.

Divock Origi - AC Milan U23s

Divock Origi’s career has been ruined by his desire for more game time, and that is really sad to see. In 2015, he was at Liverpool having returned from a loan spell at his former club Lille. He started to make some substitute appearances for the Reds but by the 2017/18 season, he still wasn’t a regular starter so went out on loan to Wolfsburg for the season. He will be most fondly remembered by Liverpool fans for his winner against Barcelona that completed a remarkable turnaround for the Reds in the Champions League.

He joined AC Milan in 2022 but has not made a mark there at all, scoring twice in 36 matches for the club. He was loaned out to Nottingham Forest last season but failed to score a league goal in 20 matches. On his return to Milan this summer, it was decided that he would play for the U23s in Serie C rather than the first team.

Luke Shaw - Manchester United

The only player on this list to still be at their club 10 years later is Manchester United full back Luke Shaw. The England international joined the Red Devils in 2014 shining for his boyhood club Southampton in both the Championship and the Premier League. He started life well at Manchester United, but suffered his first major injury for them in his second season at the club, when he was stretchered off in a Champions League tie against PSV. He returned six months later.

Shaw has been one of Manchester United’s only consistent performers over recent years, during a time in which the club has been in turmoil. The last two seasons have been particularly difficult for him as he managed just 18 games in total due to a number of serious injuries. Despite this, he has consistently been England’s best left back and hsa helped them reach the final of two consecutive Euro finals.

Adama Traore - Fulham

Adama Traore has always had a lot of potential, but like many others on this list, he has struggled to reach the peaks expected of him. A product of La Masia, Traore struggled to get much game time at Barcelona as a right winger because there was another right winger at the club who was just slightly better than him. Unable to dislodge Lionel Messi from the team, Traore had two unsuccessful moves to Aston Villa and Middlesbrough before he joined Wolves in the Championship in 2018.

At this point, many had forgotten that he was supposed to be the next big player out of the Barcelona academy, and he could enjoy his football. He played a total of 200 games for Wolves in both the Championship and Premier League and Barcelona decided to loan him back to the club for a season, where he was unsuccessful again. In 2023 he joined fellow Premier League side Fulham where his goals per game ratio has drastically increased. He has still only scored four for the club, but his pace and power down the wing has earned him a place in Marco Silva’s side.

Anthony Martial - AEK Athens

The winner of the 2015 Golden Boy award, Anthony Martial had just burst onto the scene at both Monaco and Manchester United. His first season in the Premier League is still his second best goal scoring season in his entire career, notching 17 goals in 49 matches. United fans will be forgiven for thinking that at the time they had managed to lure the next Thierry Henry to Old Trafford.

Martial had quite a few respectable seasons at Manchester United, scoring 23 in the 2019/20 campaign. This was his last remarkable one though, as in the four seasons that followed, he totaled just 20 goals. In 2021 he was loaned out to Sevilla for the season, but he failed to score in the league for them and upon his return to Manchester United, it was decided that he should move on. Unfortunately for all involved, United were unable to find a buyer, and he spent his last two seasons at the club making a few substitute appearances. Last summer he joined AEK Athens in Greece and has managed a respectable return of nine goals in 19 appearances, showing that there is still some talent left in the 29-year-old.

Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist
Jake Martin

Website Editor

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