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Jadon Sancho and Kai Havertz (l-r.) are in the running to be named world football's best player under the age of 21.
Jadon Sancho and Kai Havertz (l-r.) are in the running to be named world football's best player under the age of 21. - © getty
Jadon Sancho and Kai Havertz (l-r.) are in the running to be named world football's best player under the age of 21. - © getty
bundesliga

Jadon Sancho and Kai Havertz nominated for 2019 Kopa Trophy for World's Best Young Player

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Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho and Bayer Leverkusen's Kai Havertz have been named alongside the likes of Joao Felix and Matthijs de Ligt as two of 10 nominees for the 2019 Kopa Trophy awarded to the world's best U21 player.

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Sancho finished the 2018/19 Bundesliga campaign with a league-high 14 assists as Dortmund missed out on the title by just two points. The 19-year-old also scored 12 goals, and became a fully fledged England international, opening his international account in UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying in September.

The former Manchester City youth player, who joined Dortmund at the age of 17, has already registered four goals and six assists in all competitions in 2019/20, and is also in contention for the 2019 Golden Boy award.

"Jadon's potential is enormous," said Dortmund coach Lucien Favre. "The expectations on him are huge, but he can live up to them."

Watch: All hail Bundesliga assist king, Jadon Sancho!

Like Sancho, fellow Kopa Trophy and Golden Boy nominee Havertz enjoyed an incredible season of Bundesliga football in 2018/19. The now 20-year-old Leverkusen talent helped himself to 17 goals, finishing the campaign as the top-scoring teenager in Bundesliga history.

He, too, made his Germany debut last season, before scoring his first goal for his country at senior international level in the 2-2 friendly draw with Argentina during the October 2019 international break.

Havertz, who has struck three times in the league in 2019/20 and is just four games shy of making his 100th Bundesliga appearance, finished second to Dortmund captain Marco Reus in the voting for the 2019 German Footballer of the Year prize. Germany legend Lothar Matthäus believes that could be just the start for one of his country's most gifted players.

"Havertz has set the bar very high," commented the 1990 FIFA World Cup winner and 1991 FIFA World Player of the Year. "If he can maintain this high standard, with his natural talent, presence on the pitch, and goal threat, then he could someday follow me as world footballer of the year."

Watch: Find out what makes Kai Havertz so good!

France 2018 World Cup winner and Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe won the inaugural Kopa Trophy, organised by France Football, in 2018.

The winner of the 2019 award, which is named in honour of the late former France international and Real Madrid star Raymond Kopa, will be announced along with the victors of the men's and women's Ballon d'Or on 2 December.

Kopa Trophy 2019 nominees in full

Matteo Guendouzi (Arsenal), Jadon Sancho (Dortmund), Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid), Moise Kean (Everton), Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal), Kang-in Lee (Valencia), Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus), Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid), Kai Havertz (Bayer Leverkusen), Andriy Lunin (Real Valladolid)

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