TEN contenders have been shortlisted for the BBC young sports personality of the year 2013 – including Manchester United’s teenaged midfielder Adnan Januzaj.

The 18-year-old will be hoping to emulate team-mate Wayne Rooney, who won the award in 2002, but his presence is something of a surprise given that he has only played a handful of games for the Manchester United first team.

Januzaj was born in Belgium but has yet to choose which country to represent internationally – he is currently ineligible for England. Although not British, he is eligible for the BBC award as he is resident in and plays in the UK and his main achievements were in this country and not for a national team.

Januzaj is up against Dina Asher-Smith, at 17 the second youngest female to win a medal at the world athletics championships when she helped Great Britain’s women secure bronze in the 4x100m relay.

Others shortlisted include Charley Hull, who aged 17 was the youngest-ever player to appear for either Europe or the United States in golf’s Solheim Cup, shooting’s Amber Hill, who was just 15 when she became the youngest-ever winner of a senior World Cup in her sport and finished the season ranked as the world number five, swimmer James Guy, the youngest male swimmer to compete for Britain in an individual event at a major championship for two decades; Jess Judd, the youngest athlete to represent Britain in the 800m at the world championships; paralympic swimmer Amy Marren who aged 15 won four golds at the 2013 IPC world championships; European youth champion weightlifter Rebekah Tiler; wheelchair racer Isaac Towers, 15, who broke the senior European 1500m record; and canoe slalom’s Kimberley Woods who won a number of titles in 2013 including gold at the C1W Senior World Cup.