The football season is ending, which means it’s almost time for awards and trophies. Some will be given at the end of the year like the Ballon d’Or while some will be provided during the summer break. The CAF African Player of the Year Award like most other awards will be based on the player’s performance for both club and country. In a year where there’s no major International Competition, it is usually based on the player’s club performance alone. The award has seen familiar faces in recent years with Victor Osimhen breaking the Mo Salah and Sadio Mané duopoly last year when he won the award. This year, we may be seeing some new faces nominated for the award and perhaps even win it. Looking at the top five European leagues we’ve made a list of new players who we think have a shot at the prestigious award this year.
1. Victor Boniface
Boniface plays as a central forward for the now-famous German club Bayer Leverkusen. The club is currently on an unbeaten run of 50 games and counting across all competitions. They’ve already clinched the Bundesliga title this season and Boniface played no small part in that feat. The Nigerian striker currently has 20 goals and nine assists for Leverkusen across all competitions. He suffered an injury in December last year that kept him away from football for over three months. This means that he completely missed the AFCON and a huge chunk of the season at his club. Boniface doesn’t have any talking points from the international angle, as he didn’t get the chance to play in the AFCON but if Bayer Leverkusen completes the treble unbeaten, it will improve his chances of winning the coveted award.
2. Serhou Guirassy
Serhou Guirassy has put up great numbers for VFB Stuttgart this season although his performance and that of his club have gone relatively under the radar compared to Bayer Leverkusen. VFB Stuttgart were in the relegation playoffs last season and this season they will be qualifying for the Champions League. Guirassy’s contribution to this team has been immense this season. The Guinean player has 28 goals and one assist in 28 Bundesliga matches for the club. That’s one goal per match. In addition, he has two goals and one assist in the DFB-Pokal bringing his tally to 28 goals and three assists across all competitions for the club. He is currently second behind Harry Kane in the Bundesliga highest goal-scorer race for this season. While he can’t win the Bundesliga Golden Boot this season given the goal gap between him and Kane, 28 goals in one season is exceptional in any league and any season. On the international front, he doesn’t have much to show. He played three matches in the AFCON and he didn’t get any goals or assists. His performance in the Premier African football competition wasn’t particularly spectacular.
3. Ademola Lookman
The Nigerian forward plays for Italian club Atalanta and he has been instrumental in their success this season. The forward has nine goals and six assists in 29 Serie A appearances for the club this season. He has a total of 12 goals and seven assists across all competitions for the club. These are not particularly great numbers compared to others on this list but if we factor in his performance in the AFCON, he starts to look like a potential nominee at least if not a contender. He scored three goals and made one assist in Nigeria’s run to the AFCON finals which they eventually lost to Ivory Coast in February. His goals were crucial to the progression of Nigeria in the competition. Atalanta is currently in the Europa League final and will play Boniface’s Bayer Leverkusen for the trophy. Whoever emerges the winner boosts their chances at the award.
4. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Aubameyang is not exactly a new face at the AFCON as he won the award in 2015. He has had a few rough seasons but his performance for Marseille this season has been nothing but exceptional. The Gabonese forward scored 16 goals and made eight assists in 32 Ligue 1 matches for the French club. He has also scored 10 goals in Marseille’s Europa League campaign even though they were knocked out in the semi-finals by Atalanta. Aubameyang has a total of 29 goals and 11 assists for Marseille this season which should at least earn him a nomination at this year’s CAF award. Unfortunately, Gabon did not qualify to play in the AFCON this year so he loses points for that.
5. Mohammed Kudus
Ghanaian player Mohammed Kudus has been an amazing signing for Premier League side West Ham. His performance in the AFCON would have been exceptional as well but it was cut short due to Ghana’s early exit from the competition. Kudus scored two goals in the AFCON but it was not enough to keep Ghana in the competition. He currently has seven goals and six assists for West Ham in the Premier League as well as five goals in the Europa. His numbers may not be exceptional but that’s partly due to his position as a midfielder. Watching him play, he has been an outstanding player for both Ghana and West Ham this season. Certainly one of the best African players out there right now and his performances should be enough to earn him a nomination at the awards this year.
6. Franck Kessie
The Ivorian player may also earn a nomination due to his performance in the AFCON. Ivory Coast emerged as winners of the competition and the midfielder contributed a goal to defeat Nigerian 2-1 in the final. He plays for Saudi side Al Ahli and has nine goals and three assists for the club so far.
Victor Osimhen’s chances of winning the award are quite low this year considering the terrible form of Napoli. He has 15 Serie A goals for Napoli but it’s a far cry from the number he put up last season that earned him the award. His 15 goals should still be enough to earn him a nomination but he is not likely to win it based on his performance this season.
Liverpool winger Mo Salah is a strong contender for the award every season. This season in the Premier League he has 18 goals and 10 assists. While his AFCON run with Egypt is one to be forgotten he still has 1 goal and 1 assist despite being injured early in the competition.
Other players to look out for are Achraf Hakimi, Riyadh Mahrez, and of course Sadio Mané. The winner or the nominees for the award are not quite clear yet. It’s just the first half of the year; there are still many more matches to be played across different competitions before the awards in November. The year is still quite long.