5 players who could have won the Golden Boy award ahead of Kylian Mbappe

On Monday, Paris St. Germain striker Kylian Mbappe won the Golden Boy award for the best under-21 player in Europe. The Frenchman won convincingly with 291 votes to his name - a massive 152 more than second-placed Ousmane Dembele.

Newspapers Bild (Germany), Blick (Switzerland), A Bola (Portugal), l'Equipe (France), France Football (France), Marca (Spain), Mundo Deportivo (Spain), Ta Nea (Greece), Sport Express (Russia), De Telegraaf (Netherlands) and The Times (UK) were involved in the voting process.

Marcus Rahshford, Gabriel Jesus, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Christian Pulisic, Kasper Dolberg, Emre Mor, Federico Chiesa and Rodrigo Bentancur rounded off the top 10.

We take a look at five alternative players who could have been named as the best youngster in Europe:

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#5 Kasper Dolberg

Kasper Dolberg is valued at €50 million and is already a transfer target for Borussia Dortmund

Ajax striker Kasper Dolberg enjoyed a phenomenal breakout season for the Dutch side in 2016/17. The 20-year-old took the entire continent by storm through his blistering performances in the Eredivisie and on the continental stage.

He was, in many ways, the flag bearer of the young Ajax squad that was on the cusp of Europa League glory. They faltered on their final hurdle against Manchester United but were one of the most impressive teams in Europe last season.

They netted a remarkable 79 goals in the league, and had Dolberg to thank for many of them. The Ajax talisman found the back of the net on 16 occasions in 26 league starts and provided another three assists.

Ajax legend Marc Overmars has likened Dolberg to Dutch footballing great Marco van Basten. The Ajax director of football stated that: "They are the same size, same speed and both have a good shot."

If Dolberg can continue to work on his performances and keep improving with each passing season, he may soon find himself playing for one of Europe's top sides.

#4 Gianluigi Donnarumma

Donnarumma is arguably Europe's best under-21 keeper

Despite being at a tender age of 18, the AC Milan shot-stopper has already established himself as one of the finest goalkeepers of this generation. Gianluigi Donnarumma is already Milan's undisputed number one and is seen as the heir to Gianluigi Buffon in the Italian national side.

In fact, he is highly regarded by the Juventus goalkeeper, who he looks up to as a mentor and a role model. Donnarumma has hit the spotlight way sooner than Buffon ever did, and now the onus is on him to live up to his credentials and prove why he is one of the best goalkeepers on the block.

While Donnarumma now seems content in Milan, it hasn't always been the case for him. Last season, he came close an exit after he went on record to state that he will not sign a new contract - putting Manchester United, Real Madrid and other top European clubs on red alert. However, he decided to make a u-turn on that decision and penned a four-year extension at San Siro.

The off-field talk did not come in the way of his performances for Milan as he registered the same number of clean sheets last season (12) as compared to Buffon. Donnarumma may have conceded more goals, but made more overall saves and was also more efficient if his saves-per-goal ratio is to be considered.

#3 Marcus Rashford

Marcus Rashford has grown from strength to strength under Jose Mourinho

Since breaking into the Manchester United side way back in the 2015/16 campaign and sparing their blushes against FC Midtjylland in the UEFA Europa League, Marcus Rashford has been a regular in the Red Devils' first team.

After his tireless display on debut, he kept growing in confidence and now seems like one of Europe's finest attacking talents aged under 21. The Manchester United academy product is rated extremely highly by manager Jose Mourinho, and he is likely to be the poster boy for the club for the foreseeable future.

Last season, due to the arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Rashford was forced to play out wide, but he willingly took to his new role and put in the extra yards to earn the adulation of his manager and fans alike. The 19-year-old is already a full England international and is a regular part of head coach Gareth Southgate's first team.

There was slight confusion about where he finished in the Golden Boy standings as Tuttosport had announced earlier this week that Mbappe, Jesus and Dembele rounded off the top three. However, on Monday, their list saw Rashford in third place with an impressive 76 votes to his name.

#2 Gabriel Jesus

Gabriel Jesus is one of Manchester City's most promising superstars

Until Monday, Jesus believed that he was in the top three for the Golden Boy award. However, once the results came out, the Brazilian was named in fourth place - receiving four votes lesser than third-placed Rashford.

That being said, he will take pride in the fact that he is one of the Premier League's only two players to be named in the top ten of this prestigious award. Despite moving to City in January, he quickly got accustomed to life in England, and his performances kept Sergio Aguero out of the starting eleven.

Since joining the club in the winter, Jesus made eight league starts for them, and he found the back of the net on seven occasions. He also bagged three assists and quickly became Pep Guardiola's go-to option in the final third.

Even this season, Jesus has already scored six goals in eight Premier League appearances and also has a couple of Champions League strikes to his name. Like Rashford, he too is a regular fixture in his country's national squad.

#1 Ousmane Dembele

After one season in Germany, Dembele joined Barcelona for an initial €105 million fee

The French youngster is seen by many as the potential replacement for former Barcelona attacker Neymar. The Brazilian opted to leave Camp Nou in the summer to move out of Messi's shadow and to establish himself as Europe's best footballer.

That move saw Barca pocket a hefty €222 million fee - making the Neymar the most expensive player of all time. To fill in the hefty void left by the Brazilian, Barcelona turned to Borussia Dortmund's Ousmane Dembele.

The Catalan Giants chose to make Dembele the second most expensive player in the game as he was on the back of an impressive season in for the Yellow and Blacks in Germany. The 20-year-old provided 12 assists and scored six goals in his first season in the Bundesliga.

While his numbers may not have been as impressive as Neymar's, Dembele reeks of world class potential, and if nurtured well, has the ability to be a world beater, and probably challenge for the Balon d'Or in the near future.