Vote Victor Moses for BBC African Footballer of the Year!

Not to be confused with the CAF African Footballer of the Year, which announced its 60-man list of nominees a couple weeks ago, the vastly differently named BBC African Footballer of the Year announced its nominees earlier today as well. There are only five players nominated for the BBC’s award, all five repeating their nomination from the CAF’s award, including Chelsea wing-back Victor Moses, who’s currently working his way back to full fitness after a month out with a grade III hamstring injury.

The other nominees are Liverpool duo Sadio Mane and Mo Salah, future Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita, and one of the former players of the current Liverpool manager Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. That’s a lot of Liverpool, which does give Moses a title-winning advantage, though that’s unlikely to translate to victory in either of these awards.

The BBC’s award does have a public vote component, so you can try to stuff the ballot box over on their website. Only two Chelsea players have ever won this award, Michael Essien in 2006 and Didier Drogba in 2009.

Moses’s transformation from a forgotten loanee to a key first-team player was one of the best stories of last season. The 26-year-old reflects on that journey as well a bunch of other things in this excellent interview with Goal’s Nizaar Kinsella, which you should read.

“Every season I want to be the best I can to be Africa's best player. I will do the best I can.

“I'd say Azpilicueta [has influenced me most]. He played a huge part in my defensive development last season. [...] As a player, every season you want to do better than you did last season. I want to be better this season than last season. I am aiming for more goals and assists.”

-Victor Moses; source: Goal