Manchester City star Riyad Mahrez has been nominated for the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) Player of the Year.
Riyad Mahrez made 47 appearances for Manchester City in all competition as he helped the club win the Premier League title last season.
He scored 24 goals in all competitions last season, as the Algerian managed the best ever goalscoring season of his career.
Mahrez will have to beat off competition from Bayern Munich’s Sadio Mane, alongside his former Liverpool teammates Mohamed Salah and Naby Keita to win the prestigious award.
Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Yves Bissouma, Chelsea’s Edouard Mendy, Arsenal’s Mohamed Elneny and Aston Villa’s Bertrand Traore also make the initial list of 30.
The ceremony will be held ahead of the final of the Women’s Cup of Nations (Wafcon) – a competition scheduled to take place between July 2 and July 23 – in Morocco.
The period under consideration is from September 2021 to June 2022 at all levels.
Meanwhile, Premier League champions Manchester City have agreed personal terms with Brighton full-back Marc Cucurella, according to Football Insider.
The Spanish left-back, 23, has accepted Manchester City’s contract offer and has made it clear to Brighton that he wants to quit for the Premier League champions.
Despite reaching an agreement with Cucurella, Manchester City are yet to reach an agreement with Brighton for the left-back.
However, Manchester City are confident of reaching an agreement with Brighton soon as talks are now at an advanced stage.
Cucurella was named Brighton’s Player of the Year following his impressive performances for Graham Potter’s side last season.
Guardiola is keen on signing a left-back this summer with Benjamin Mendy unavailable indefinitely.
Ukraine international Oleksandr Zinchenko, who has played mostly as a left-back at Manchester City, is actually a central midfielder.
Guardiola has had his eyes on Cucurella for a while now, as the Catalan coach considers the Brighton left-back as the ideal candidate to operate in an attacking left-back role.
Cucurella ranked third in the Premier League for most chances created from open play, third for the most tackles made, and first for most ball recoveries made among left-backs in the Premier League last season.
He made 35 Premier League starts for Graham Potter’s side and was a key player as Brighton secured a top-half finish last season.
