In truth, it would have been a massive surprise if the £63 million signing from Atalanta did not make it into the chosen trio.
Alongside Crystal Palace’s Joachim Andersen and Barcelona’s former Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen – Rasmus Hojlund’s rivals for the award – the Manchester United striker has been in outstanding form in the red of Denmark ever since forcing his way into the starting XI.
Only Harry Kane, Romelu Lukaku, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe have more than Hojlund’s seven goals in European Championship qualifying. Some company.
Those seven goals, meanwhile, have come in just six starts, Hojlund exploding onto the international scene with a hat-trick against Scandinavian neighbours Finland on his full Denmark debut.
