THE BRIGHTEST EMERGING talents from Dublin, Kerry and Tyrone have all been shortlisted for the Young Footballer of the Year accolade as part of the 2018 GAA-GPA PWC All-Star awards.

Dublin’s Brian Howard, Kerry’s David Clifford and Tyrone’s Michael McKernan are the trio in the running after the nominations were chosen yesterday.

Howard, a senior squad member in 2017, grew into a major player for Jim Gavin’s side this year with a series of impressive displays helping Dublin win the Sam Maguire.

Clifford made the seamless transition from minor to senior this season for Kerry. His performances in the Super 8s were particularly notable as he hit 1-5 against Galway, 1-3 against Monaghan – including that late dramatic goal to draw the game – and 2-6 against Kildare.

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McKernan started the championship campaign by coming off the bench to net for Tyrone against Monaghan in their Ulster loss before subsequently nailing down a starting spot in defence as they journeyed to the All-Ireland final.

The shortlist for the Young Footballer of the Year prize is still confined to players who are U21. Howard will be bidding to land the prize for the second successive year for Dublin after Con O’Callaghan was recognised in 2017. The most recent Kerry victor was Tommy Walsh in 2008 and the last Tyrone winner was Sean Cavanagh back in 2003.

The nominees were decided by a committee made up of GAA media and chaired by GAA President John Horan. The award will be voted on exclusively by inter-county players.

This year’s All-Star awards take place on Friday 2 November in Dublin’s Convention Centre and will be screened live by RTÉ TV.

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