It has been claimed that another African star deserves to win the 2023 CAF Player of The Year award ahead of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah.
The African POTY award is the most prestigious individual accolade on the continent, with legends such as Samuel Eto'o, Yaya Toure and Didier Drogba having previously won the prize.
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Ivory Coast's Toure and Cameroon's Eto'o hold the record for the joint-most wins with four each, while Egypt international Mohamed Salah and his former Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane have each won it twice, alongside Drogba.
A few names have already received shouts for this year's accolade, with Paris Saint-Germain fullback Achraf Hakimi and Napoli striker Victor Osimhen widely thought to be in the conversation.
The former has already won the 2022/23 French Super Cup and was a key member of Morocco's record-breaking 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign that saw the Atlas Lions become the first African team to reach the semi-finals of the tournament.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian centre-forward is one of Europe's most sought-after players thanks to his prolific displays this season, with 24 goal contributions in 24 games for the Naples outfit.
This has seen the 24-year-old being linked with moves to the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, and Paris Saint-Germain.
Former Super Eagles marksman Victor Ikpeba has now weighed in on the topic, insisting that Osimhen should win the African POTY award this year as regular contenders such as Salah and Mane have not been at their best.
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"Osimhen doesn't need to win the Africa Cup of Nations to be crowned the African Footballer of the Year for 2023," the 1994 Afcon winner said on All Nigeria Soccer.
"If Napoli win the Serie A and they get to the latter stages of the UEFA Champions League like the semi-finals or the final, he can be the African Footballer of the Year.
"Osimhen's rivals for the award, the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, are really struggling at the moment.
"If you really look at January and February 2023, the African player that is shining the most in European football is Victor Osimhen.
"What a year it takes for not qualifying [for Nigeria's squad] for the World Cup. He has gone back, he has improved a lot. There's a lot of urgency in his play, determination, belief.
"He is banging in the goals. I think he is a shining light for Nigerian football.
"Ademola Lookman is also doing well in the Serie A – one of the toughest leagues in the world."
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