CAF has announced 30 nominees, including two PSL stars, for this year's African Player of the Year award – here are the favourites to win the 2017 prize.
Click through the gallery to see 10 favourites to lift the 2017 African Player of the Year award.
While Percy Tau and Denis Onyango, who was named 2016 African Player of the Year - based in Africa, are two of only four players nominated for the African Player of the Year and the African Player of the Year – based in Africa awards, many expect a European-based player to lift the main prize.
With 2016 winner Riyad Mahrez somewhat surprisingly being snubbed from the 30-man shortlist, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the only previous winner among the nominees.
He will again be in with a good shout after scoring 40 goals and assisting another five strikes in 46 appearances for Borussia Dortmund last season. Aubameyang's achievements are underlined by the fact that he beat Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski to the Golden Boot in the Bundesliga, but Gabon's poor performances might hinder his chances of lifting the award a second time.
Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane will surely be among the main contenders for this year's prize as well. The former starred with 19 goals and 15 assists for AS Roma last season, and has begun life at Anfield with 10 goals and four assists in his first 16 games. In addition, Salah also played a crucial role in Egypt's first qualification for a FIFA World Cup since 1990, scoring a 95th minute penalty in their 2-1 win over Congo. Mane, meanwhile, scored 13 times and set up another eight goals for his teammates last season, with an even better return denied by injuries.
RB Leipzig's Naby Keita deserves to be in the running after writing positive headlines in his first Bundesliga campaign, which earned him an African record transfer to Liverpool in 2018, while Victor Moses surprised many with the revival of his career under Antonio Conte. The Nigerian deserves recognition after lifting the Premier League title with the Blues and helping Nigeria qualify for Russia 2018.
Other players in the gallery include Manchester United's Eric Bailly, 2017 AFCON winner Vincent Aboubakar and Bertrand Traore, who helped Ajax Amsterdam reach the 2016/17 UEFA Europa League final.
Read: Two Sundowns Stars Nominated For CAF African Player Of The Year
Note: The CAF awards gala will be held on 4 January in Accra, Ghana, and the winner will be decided by votes from head coaches/technical directors of the national associations affiliated with CAF, members of CAF's Technical and Development Committee and a panel of media experts.
Who do you think should win CAF's African Player of the Year award? Have your say in the comments section below.
