Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Naby Keita have been nominated for African Player of the Year after the Reds picked up two domestic trophies this season.
The Anfield duo were included on the 30-man list of contenders announced by the Confederation of African Football on Thursday.
Salah scored 31 goals in 51 matches in all competitions, tying with Hueng Min-Son to win the golden boot in the Premier League.
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He also finished one assist ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold to win the competition’s playmaker of the year award.
The Egyptian's season began in electrifying fashion, including an incredible hattrick away at Manchester United and a run of scoring in ten consecutive matches.
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He scored in all six UEFA Champions League group matches, as well as the away tie against Inter Milan.
However, the forward was beaten twice by Senegal in key moments last season, with ex-teammate Sadio Mane (also nominated for the award) scoring the winning penalty in both the African Cup of Nations final and to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar.
Salah didn’t perform to his lofty standards in the second half of the campaign, but still managed to win the Football Writers Player of the Year.
Guinea skipper Naby Keita enjoyed what is widely seen as his best season as a Liverpool player since joining from RB Leipzig in 2018.
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He featured 40 times in all competitions, playing especially well against Manchester City in the FA Cup Semi-Final and the aforementioned 5-0 thrashing of the Red side of Manchester.
The two Reds players are joined by former teammate Mane in the list amongst plenty of other recognisable names.
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Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and new Tottenham signing Yves Bissouma are two headline Premier League names, alongside Mohamed Elneny, Bertrand Traore and Riyad Mahrez.
In Europe, Achraf Hakimi, Kalidou Koulibaly and Franck Kessie are the star names, and young centre-back Edmund Tapsoba was nominated for the first time (likely of many).
Salah will likely be up there with the favourites for the award, but after winning the continent’s elite competition, players from Senegal will likely be given preference.
Topics: Liverpool, Mohamed Salah, Naby Keita