Nominees announced for Johan Cruyff Talent of the Year 2023/24

The Johan Cruijff Talent of the Year award is presented to the best young talent who was 21 years old or younger at the start of the season. Players are selected based on statistics (Opta) and votes from football fans (KPN Man of the Match). A requirement is that players must have completed at least 40% of the total playing minutes. The final winner is chosen by the Coaches Betaald Voetbal, consisting of the eighteen Eredivisie coaches and the head coach of the Dutch national team.

Johan Bakayoko had an outstanding season with PSV. The 21-year-old forward played in 33 Eredivisie matches, scoring 12 goals and providing 9 assists. Only Luuk de Jong was involved in more Eredivisie goals than Bakayoko (21). He ranked second in successful dribbles (92) and only Joey Veerman had more expected assists in the Eredivisie (10.6). Bakayoko was named Johan Cruijff Talent of the Month three times last season (October, November, and April).

Ruben van Bommel, named the greatest talent of the Keuken Kampioen Divisie in 2022/23, marked his Eredivisie debut with a nomination for Talent of the Year. The 20-year-old AZ forward started strong with a goal and an assist in the first round. Van Bommel played 29 matches last season, scoring six goals and providing one assist, with all six goals scored in Alkmaar. He was named Johan Cruijff Talent of the Month in February.

Jorrel Hato, 18, played the most minutes for Ajax last season (2962) and was directly involved in three goals (1 goal and 2 assists). Among all players with at least 500 minutes, Hato had the highest pass accuracy in the Eredivisie, with 92.5% of his passes reaching a teammate. In matchweek 5, he became the youngest player ever to start ten matches for Ajax (at 17 years and 194 days, breaking Gerald Vanenburg's record). Hato was first named Johan Cruijff Talent of the Month in August last year.

Yankuba Minteh, who turned 20 in July, is the youngest player to be directly involved in fifteen goals in the six biggest European leagues in the 2023/24 season (10 goals, 5 assists). The forward from Feyenoord, now with Brighton, scored four of his ten Eredivisie goals after a carry, the joint-highest number among all players last season. Minteh also averaged 3.63 successful dribbles per 90 minutes, the second highest in the Eredivisie.

Youri Regeer, 20, is the final nominee for the Johan Cruijff Talent of the Year award. The defender-midfielder from FC Twente made 32 appearances last season, directly contributing to three goals (2 goals and 1 assist). Regeer created 28 chances from open play and won 57.4% of his personal duels. He was named Johan Cruijff Talent of the Month in September.

The Eredivisie Awards are an initiative of Eredivisie CV, Azerion Vrouwen Eredivisie, and ESPN. Partners of the Eredivisie Awards include VriendenLoterij, KPN, and the Cruyff Foundation. The Eredivisie Player of the Year and the Azerion Vrouwen Eredivisie Player of the Year are chosen in collaboration with players' union VVCS by the captains of the 18 Eredivisie clubs. In collaboration with Coaches Betaald Voetbal, the coaches and national team coaches select the Johan Cruijff Talent of the Year in both the Eredivisie and Azerion Vrouwen Eredivisie. The event will be hosted by Jan Joost van Gangelen and Fresia Cousiño Arias. The award show will be broadcast live at 20:30 on ESPN 1 and YouTube.