Ghana international Andre Ayew has been named on a five-man shortlist for the 2016 BBC African Footballer of the Year award.
Also on the list are Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon), Riyad Mahrez (Algeria), Sadio Mane (Senegal) and 2015 winner, Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast).
Ayew, who won the award back in 2011, enjoyed a stellar debut season in the Premier League with Swansea, scoring 12 goals in 35 appearances.
His performances over the course of the season saw him named newcomer of the year at the club.
Several clubs expressed interest in Ayew over the summer but he eventually penned a move to West Ham, who signed him for a club record fee of £20.5m.
He has had an indifferent start to the season with his new club after he picked up an injury on his debut in the Hammers’ 2-1 loss to Chelsea in August.
Ayew has however featured in the club’s last two games after recovering from the injury and will most likely captian the Black Stars in their World Cup Qualifier against Egypt on Sunday.
The shortlist was revealed during a special live launch broadcast on the British station on Saturday.
The winner will be decided by fans from across the world, who have until 18:00 GMT on 28 November to vote for their choice.
The 2016 recipient of the award will be announced on Monday, 12 December, live on BBC Focus on Africa TV and radio, starting from 17:35 GMT
.Here’s the BBC’s profile of the other players on the list:
Aubameyang, 27, has had an outstanding 2016, scoring 26 goals (at time of writing) for Dortmund.
He became the first African to be named Bundesliga player of the year, the first Gabonese to become the Confederation of African Football’s Player of the Year, and has earned a place on the shortlist for the 2016 Ballon d’Or.
Another English Premier League player, Mahrez enjoyed spectacular success as he inspired Leicester – who had been 5,000-1 outsiders – to a first league title.
Mahrez, 25, scored 17 league goals and was voted Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year – the first African to win the award. He also starred for Algeria as they qualified for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.
Mane, 24, became the most expensive African footballer in history when he joined Liverpool for £34m in the summer.
He has made an immediate impact at Anfield, with six goals and four assists in 11 matches for the Reds. Before his move, he had scored eight league goals this year for Southampton, including a hat-trick against then champions Manchester City,
Toure has been hugely successful in a career that started 15 years ago
Toure collected yet another trophy in 2016 – the 17th of his career – when he lifted the English League Cup with Manchester City, scoring the winning penalty as they beat Liverpool in a shootout in the final.
This was the year the 33-year-old powerhouse called time on an illustrious international career. But he declared he was still a force – and his inclusion on the list for another year backs that up.
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