Nigeria forward Victor Osimhen has made the final three-man shortlist for the 2023 CAF Men’s Player of the Year.
CAF announced the final shortlist on Thursday.
The best of the best.
Player of the Year (MEN) award – Final 3.#CAFAwards2023 pic.twitter.com/s4CzceaejY
— CAF (@CAF_Online) December 7, 2023
Also in the running for the prestigious award are Morocco and Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi and Egypt and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah.
Last year’s winner, Sadio Mane, failed to make the final shortlist.
Osimhen is the red-hot favourite to succeed the Senegalese.
The 24-year-old led Napoli to their first Serie A title in 33 years last season, scoring a league-leading 26 goals to break George Weah’s record as the highest-scoring African in the Italian top flight in the process.
Earlier in the week, he was crowned the Italian footballers’ association player of the year for his Napoli performances last season.
The former Lille and Wolfsburg striker became the first African to ever win the AIC award, joining the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Andrea Pirlo, Cristiano Ronaldo and last year’s winner Rafael Leao as recipients of the prize.
Osimhen is looking to become the first Nigerian to win the award since Kanu Nwankwo was named the best player on the continent in 1999.
The winner will be revealed at the CAF Awards Gala on Monday, December 11, 2023, at the Palais des Congrès, Movenpick, Marrakech, Morocco.