Manchester City midfielder Yaya Touré will face competition from Southampton’s Sadio Mané and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Borussia Dortmund as he bids to be named African player of the year for a record fifth time.
Eleven Premier League-based players were nominated on the 37-man shortlist for the award last month but that has now been reduced to 10.
Touré is the favourite to hold on to the crown after leading Ivory Coast to the Africa Cup of Nations in January, although he will face a challenge from Gabon striker Aubameyang, who has already scored 13 times in the Bundesliga this season and was reportedly watched by Barcelona’s sporting director Ariedo Braida in the 3-1 win over Werder Bremen on Saturday.
The Senegal international Mané is also a major contender after an impressive first year in the Premier League, but there was no place for Leicester Riyad Mahrez despite his blistering start to the season.
Swansea’s Ghana forward André Ayew did make the shortlist, along with Chelsea’s Mohamed Salah - now on loan at Roma. The Valencia duo Aymen Abdennour and Sofiane Feghouli are also on the list alongside Paris Saint-Germain’s Serge Aurier, Yacine Brahimi of Porto and Mudather Eltaib Ibrahim ‘Karika’ of El Hilal in Saudi Arabia.
Elsewhere the DR Congo goalkeeper Robert Kidiaba – known for his “bouncing bottom” goal celebration – is one of 10 nominees for the African player of the year award for those based in Africa.
