The BBC 2017 African Footballer of the Year will be announced next month, with intense competition between the five nominees. Following the 2016 award being won by Leicester and Algeria midfielder Riyad Mahrez, three of five players in line for this years\u2019 award also play in the Premier League – with Naby Ke\u00efta soon to join them. Here are the nominees for the 2017 Award.<\/p>\n
Scoring five goals in World Cup Qualifying, as well as the decisive penalty against Congo in October has turned Mohamed Salah<\/a> into an Egyptian footballing hero. The Pharaoh\u2019s have qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1990, with Salah playing a monumental role in their qualification.<\/p>\n Pace and trickery are two of the 25-year-olds strongest attributes. The ability to exploit opposition backlines and maintain composure in goal-scoring situations is what\u2019s helping Salah to continue to contribute in an attacking sense for both club and country.<\/p>\n In terms of his club successes, the Egyptian netted 15 goals and contributed with a further 11 assists for AS Roma in the 2016\/17 Serie A season. Following his \u00a336 million transfer to Liverpool<\/a> in the summer, Salah has well and truly hit the ground running to close out 2017, scoring a further 12 goals this season for J\u00fcrgen Klopp\u2019s Reds.<\/p>\n As one of only two African nominees for the 2017 Ballon d’Or, Borussia Dortmund<\/a>\u2019s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is well as truly one of Europe\u2019s elite strikers. Blistering pace and a lethal instinct in front of goal has helped the 28-year-old to remain in this category of upper echelon centre-forwards.<\/p>\n The Gabon international made history in the 2016\/17 Bundesliga season, netting 31 goals in 32 games for Dortmund. This incredible consistency and productivity in an attacking sense has continued into the early stages of the current Bundesliga season. Aubameyang already has ten league goals to his name and is expected to bag plenty more in the upcoming weeks and months.<\/p>\n Despite their controversial rise through the German footballing pyramid over the last decade, nobody quite expected RB Leipzig<\/a> to finish runners-up<\/a> in the 2016\/17 Bundesliga standings, maintaining a legitimate title challenge for much of the season. A lot of that was down to the work of Guinea midfielder Naby Ke\u00efta.<\/p>\n The 22-year-old\u2019s energy as a box-to-box midfielder was integral to Leipzig\u2019s league success. Excelling in ball recovery and a midfield press, Ke\u00efta was key to quick transitions from defence to attack. Additionally, for a central midfielder, his return of eight goals and seven assists was not bad at all.<\/p>\n Described as a mix between Andres Iniesta and N\u2019Golo Kant\u00e9, the Guinean International has earned himself a \u00a348million transfer to Liverpool<\/a>, in which he will join up with the squad\u00a0on 1st July 2018. He should be an excellent addition for Klopp, as an energetic and versatile central midfielder that will win battles in the middle of the park.<\/p>\n Along with Aubameyang, Liverpool\u2019s Sadio Man\u00e9 is the other African Ballon d’Or nominee, following a fantastic 2016\/17 campaign. Despite missing months of the season due to the African Cup of Nations in January, as well knee surgery in April, Man\u00e9 netted 13 Premier League goals, playing a vital role in the Anfield Side\u2019s top four finish.<\/p>\n With his pace, skill and end product, the 25-year-old is fast becoming Liverpool\u2019s most important player. So far this season, Man\u00e9 has scored three goals and assisted twice. In addition to his growing success at club level following his transfer from Southampton in the summer of 2016, Man\u00e9 has also played a key role for the Senegalese national side – so much so that Senegal have qualified for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.<\/p>\n Following multiple transfers and loan spells at various clubs, Victor Moses<\/a> has found himself a key role in Antonio Conte\u2019s Chelsea<\/a> side. The 2016\/17 season was a turning point for the 26-year-old, with Conte\u2019s formational change in the early stages of the season giving Moses his opportunity.<\/p>\nPierre-Emerick Aubameyang<\/h2>\n
Naby Ke\u00efta<\/h2>\n
Sadio Man\u00e9<\/h2>\n
Victor Moses<\/h2>\n