Leicester defender Joe Mattock has been nominated to receive the Wickes Young Apprentice Trophy, which Chris Gunter won last year.The 17-year-old, who since making his debut for the club in April has gone on to appear 24 times for the Foxes and receive a call-up to the England Under-21 squad, makes up a six-man shortlist along with Anthony Acheampong (Cardiff), Mark Beevers (Sheffield Wednesday), Mark Devonshire (Barnsley), Lee Hills (Crystal Palace) and Tommy Smith (Ipswich).

Wickes, the official home improvement partner of the Football League, will present the trophy to the winner at the Football League Awards ceremony which will take place at The Hilton Hotel in London on Sunday, March 2.

A judging panel made up of former Republic of Ireland midfielder Andy Townsend, representatives from the Football League, Wickes, the Professional Footballer's Association and FourFourTwo magazine will select the overall winner - who will also win £5,000 for his club's youth development programme.

The judges will be looking at various aspects of the apprentices' careers to date including discipline, education, attitude and performance on the pitch.

Wickes sports sponsorship manager Matt Holmes said: "Last year's winner Chris Gunter and his recent achievements are a shining example to other players at this stage of their career in terms of what can be achieved. The shortlist this year is extremely strong and we wish all of the players involved successful careers in the future."

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