Come December, when the Africa Footballer of the Year will be announced, one name that will surely be at the forefront of CAF choice is Super Eagles and Atalanta winger, Ademola Lookman after a scintillating season with his Serie A side where his hat-trick won the Europa Cup for his team. It therefore came as no surprise when he was named Atalanta’s Best Player of the Season after his 27-goal contributions across all competitions.
The Super Eagles attacker has enjoyed a brilliant last 12 months. Lookman scored a perfect hat-trick in the final against Bayer Leverkusen, becoming the first player to score three goals in the tournament’s final since 1975 and the first African footballer in the history of any UEFA competition to score a hat trick in the finals.
Following the impressive form of Victor Osimhen in 2023, the Nigerian international became the fifth Nigerian footballer ever to clinch the award and the first in the 20s era to ever do so.
It is safe to say that Nigeria is returning to being the dominant force in African football as another Nigerian international, Lookman is perfectly poised to clinch the award making it back-to-back wins for Nigeria.
His 2024 Ballon d’Or award nomination was the pick of the bunch regarding his achievements, as he is the only African star to be shortlisted in the final 30 nominees for the Ballon d’Or 2024 Men’s Player of the Year award.
As such, shouts for the 26-year-old to become the next CAF Men’s Player of the Year have seemingly increased while some publications on the continent have mooted Brahim Diaz to win the prize after he won three trophies with Real Madrid last season, including the UEFA Champions League.
At the moment, CAF is yet to confirm when their awards ceremony will take place but the 2023 edition took place in December 2023, with Victor Osimhen claiming the esteemed accolade.
The CAF POTY award is the ultimate honour on the continent, with legends like Samuel Eto’o, Yaya Toure, George Weah, Didier Drogba, and Mohamed Salah having etched their names in continental history.
Lookman was born in London, England to Nigerian parents, and was eligible to play for both Nigeria and England, the 26-year-old represented the latter in the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2017, which England won, before switching his allegiance to Nigeria in 2022.
This seemingly would be an unforgettable moment for the winger, as it would be an emphatic justification for his decision to switch allegiance from England to Nigeria.
He made his debut for the Super Eagles under current interim coach Augustine Eguavoen in a scoreless draw against Ghana in a 2022 FIFA World Cup play-off. It may have been the most important decision of his footballing career. “To play for Nigeria is an honour first of all and the best decision I ever made. I’m happy I made it.” Lookman stated in an interview.
In May, just after his heroics in the Dublin final, international football journalist and broadcaster, Osasu Obayiuwana agreed that the 26-year-old Nigerian may be in contention for the African Player of the Year award.
Obayiuwana told Africa Interviews, “This has been a really important year for Lookman; not only was he the outstanding player for Atalanta in the Europa League, but he was also a very important player for Nigeria during the AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire, especially when Osimhen was not delivering the goods.
“We still have another six months to go and it’s difficult to assess whether he would still be the most dominant player or one of Africa’s most dominant players in Europe by the end of the year… But he’s certainly a contender,” Obayiuwana said.
According to Transfermarkt, the Atalanta talisman has played 25 games for Nigeria to date, contributing eight goals and four assists in addition to making the Team of the Tournament at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations after helping the West African giants to a silver-medal finish at the showpiece earlier this year.
Simply put, the Super Eagles and Atalanta star has been the most impressive African player since January.
A similar argument could be made for Egypt’s Mohammed Salah and Gabon’s striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, among a few others.
Salah had a fantastic 2023/24 season, scoring 18 goals and 10 assists in 32 appearances for Liverpool in the Premier League, while Jurgen Klopp-led Liverpool also won the Carabao Cup, and finished third behind Arsenal and winners, Manchester City.
On a national level, Egypt didn’t go past the Round of 16 in AFCON 2023, losing 8-7 in penalties to DR Congo. Salah registered just a goal and an assist at the tournament.
Similarly, Marseille striker Aubameyang, who was the leading scorer in the 2023/24 UEFA Europa League with 10 goals, had a fine season, although his club finished 8th in Ligue 1 and without a trophy.
Nevertheless, neither of them is as instrumental as the Nigerian has been for both club and country.
While his countryman, defender William Troost-Ekong, was named the best player of AFCON 2023, Lookman would have deserved it too.
If and when he eventually wins the coveted prize, he will be following in the footsteps of his compatriot, Osimhen, who was crowned CAF African Player of the Year in 2023.
Five Nigerians have won the CAF award: Rashidi Yekini, Emmanuel Amunike, Kanu Nwankwo, Ikpeba, and Osimhen.
On current form, there is no doubt that the Super Eagles and Atalanta player is now in pole position to be crowned Africa’s best men’s player, it would also be the first time since 1996-1997 that Nigerian players would be crowned African Player of the Year consecutively. Yekini and Amunike won the award in 1993 and 1994 respectively. Kanu Nwankwo and Ikpeba followed suit in 1996 and 1997 respectively.
–Benprince Ezeh
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