West Brom’s Nigeria striker Brown Ideye has been listed alongside Senegalese pair Cheikou Kouyate of West Ham and Hull City’s Dame N’doye on the shortlist for February’s African Player of the Month in the English Premier League.
The winner for the February award will be announced at the end of the week.
Previous winners include Mikel Obi (Nigeria), Yaya Toure (Cote d’Ivoire) and Diafra Sakho (Senegal).
A release signed by organisers New African Soccer’s director Tunde Adelakun stated that the choice was made after “impressive displays by the trio in the month of February.
Adelakun, who stated that there were a few votes in favour of the threesome, and that the end choice was made by his editorial and technical analysts said, “It was a keenly contested month, one in which many returned from injuries and long lay-offs, as well as exploits in the African Cup in Equatorial Guinea; and it really boiled down to who knuckled down to hard work quickest and most effectively”.
The award took a month’s break, with no winner announced for January, which Adelakun put down to the AFCON in Equatorial Guinea “most of Africa’s players were out there in the AFCON and, while we acknowledged the input and effort of those who stayed behind, we decided to give the Award scheme a level playing field, affording all players a chance to win it when they are all back at their clubs,” he explained.