Salford City goalkeeper Matty Young has been shortlisted for the League Two Young Player of the Season award.
The 19-year-old is in his second spell on loan at Salford from Premier League side Sunderland and has enjoyed his best season to date.
Young has been instrumental to the Ammies’ success this season, keeping 12 clean sheets across 40 league appearances.
The England U21 international has the sixth-highest save percentage in the league, meaning that only five other goalkeepers in the division have been more effective at keeping the ball out of the net.
Also nominated for the accolade at the 2026 EFL Awards night on Saturday are Daniel Kanu (Walsall), Sam Gale (Gillingham) and Tom Iorpenda (Notts County).
All of the winners will be announced live at the league’s annual ceremony, which is also being broadcast live on Sky Sports Football from 8:30pm.
Young joined Salford City ahead of the 2024/25 season and played a key role as the club improved on a 20th-place finish from the previous year. Salford ended the campaign in eighth, narrowly missing out on a play-off spot by one point on the final day.
After the dust settled on Salford’s near miss, Karl Robinson sought to sign Young for another season and was successful in bringing him back to the Peninsula Stadium.
When the teenager committed to another year at the club in July, he set ambitious targets for the squad ahead of the upcoming season.
“I think the lads will be pushing for automatics this year, if not, the play-offs, so that is something that me and the team will be looking forward to, and that is the end goal at the end of the day,” he said.
Nine months on, Salford City sit three points off the automatic promotion places in League Two and have improved significantly on their previous campaign.
Having made 40 appearances for the Ammies this season, Young has been a cornerstone of the team’s progress and will be hoping to claim the award as the EFL’s top performers are honoured on Saturday night.
