Marco Asensio’s performances for Espanyol last season and his eye-catching start to this campaign with Real Madrid have earned the Spaniard a nomination for the Uefa Golden Boy award, which selects the best under-21 player across Europe’s league annually.

Asensio is on the 40-player list for the award, organized by Turin-based daily Tuttsport, along with three other Liga players: Lucas Hernández (Atlético), Carlos Fernández (Sevilla) and Tonny Sanabria (Betis).

Previous winners of the award include Leo Messi (2005), Sergio Agüero (2007), Isco (2012) and Paul Pogba (2013). The 2015 winner was France and Manchester United winger Anthony Martial.