Mohammed Kudus: Why West Ham Star Failed to Make Ten Man Shortlist for CAF Player of the Year
- Ghanaian midfielder Mohammed Kudus could not make the final ten-man shortlist for the CAF Player of the Year Award
- The Black Stars midfielder had a good first season in the English Premier League in his debut campaign for West Ham
- Ademola Lookman of Nigeria and Morocco's Achraf Hakimi lead the list for the Player of the Year award
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The Confederation of African Football has released the final ten-man shortlist for the 2024 Africa Player of the Year and surprisingly missing is Mohammed Kudus of Ghana and West Ham United.
Kudus stole the spotlight in the English Premier League last season and was by far the best African player in England in the 2023/24 campaign.
In his debut season in the most popular league in the world, Kudus netted eight goals and delivered six assists for West Ham.
Source: Getty Images
However, his club form could not match up with his international form as the Black Stars suffered a group-stage exit at AFCON.
Who are the ten players nominated
The list released by CAF is dominated by players from the best teams at the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast early this year. Nigeria had William Troost-Ekong and the favourite for the award Ademola Lookman in the top ten.
Morocco duo Soufiane Rahimi and Achraf Hakimi also make the list alongside AFCON winner and Brighton star Simon Adingra.
DR Congo captain Chancel Mbemba, Edmund Tapsoba of Burkina Faso and Bayer Leverkusen, Amine Gouiri of Algeria, South Africa's Ronwen Williams and Serhou Guirassy of Guinea and Borussia Dortmund complete the list.
All ten players distinguished themselves for their clubs and countries in the year in retrospect.
Why Kudus failed to make the cut?
Speaking to US-based Ghanaian journalist, Herbert Boakye-Yiadom, he explained that Ghana's performances at international competitions hugely affected the West Ham star.
"Kudus could have easily made the list of Ghana had even reached the quarter-final but unfortunately that AFCON performance really derailed his chances. It could have been better if the team had bounced back in the qualifiers," he told Yen.com.gh.
"However, it even looks like the team won't make it to Morocco. Individually, Kudus was exceptional in Ivory Coast but he only played two matches. And if you look at the final ten-man list, who are you dropping for Kudus? Almost all players in the list won something in the year.
"The only played who could not win a trophy was Guirassy but he challenged Harry Kane for the Golden Boot in Germany," he concluded.
Ghana's Aziz Issah bags two nominations
Earlier, Yen.com.gh reported that Ghanaian winger Aziz Issah has been nominated for two awards for the 2024 Confederation of African Football Awards.
The Dreams FC player, who is currently on loan at Spanish outfit Barcelona, enjoyed a stellar 2023/24 season, where he starred for the Ghanaian club in Africa.
Issah was one of the best players in the CAF Confederation Cup, helping Dreams FC reach the semi-finals in their first attempt in Africa.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
