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Two stars from the African continent have tipped Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen as the favourite to win the African Player of the Year award.
Super Eagles forward Victor Osimhen has been tipped as the favourite to win the African Footballer of the Year award according to two former superstars of the continent.
Osimhen seen as favourite for African Player of the Year award
Former Togo captain Emmanuel Adebayor who starred for teams such as Arsenal, Manchester City, and Real Madrid, as well as former Cameroon international Alex Song who famously played for Arsenal and Barcelona have both thrown their weight behind Osimhen for the prestigious award.
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Osimhen is the favourite for the award after scoring 26 goals in the 2022/23 Serie A season to guide Napoli to their first league title since 1990 and his exploits have left an impression on Adebayor and Song.
Both players declared support for Osimhen while speaking after the 2026 FIFA World Cup draws in Ivory Coast.
Adebayor and Song tip Osimhen for major award
Adebayor, who helped Togo qualify for their first and so far only World Cup tournament in 2006 and was named African Footballer of the Year in 2008, believes that Osimhen deserves to follow in his footsteps by winning this year’s award.
He said he would be willing to give Osimhen all his votes if he were part of the selection process to further the Napoli striker’s chances of winning.
The former Real Madrid man said, “Listen, it's very simple. We’ve all seen the season. I have not been following the that much the leagues anymore, but I've been watching TV once in a while. For me, if you ask me who deserves to win the African Ballon d’Or, it's Osimhen because of what he has done with Napoli, scoring in all the biggest games in Italy [and] winning the scudetto.
“It's not easy. He has done quite well. The star player in Napoli, in Italy, is Osimhen, for me, if you ask me to vote, I will vote him. If you give me 10 votes, I will give 12 votes to Osimhen for Ballon d’Or Africa 2023.”
Cameroon icon, Song, also identified the Nigerian forward as a favourite for the award, but noted that his compatriot and Osimhen’s Napoli teammate, Andre Franck Zambo Anguissa would also be a deserving candidate.
Song said, “It's tough it’s tough. Osimhen is doing very well, my young brother as well, I have Zambo Anguissa as well. He's my young brother, he's doing very well and he’s from Cameroon and it's tough.
“It's very hard for me, but I'll go for Zambo Anguissa first. He deserves [it] because he had a great season and then Osimhen as well. They are doing very well.”
Zambo Anguissa and Osimhen were key contributors to Napoli’s first Scudetto success in 33 years and both players are expected to feature in the list of the best African players in the last year. .
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