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Top six midfielders to watch in AFCON 2017
Pulse Sports’ Thomas Freeman Yeboah profiles the top midfielders to look out for in Gabon.
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Riyad Mahrez
The Leicester City man is primarily a right winger, but he can also play on the left or through the centre. This versatility is a huge part of his game as it has makes him comfortable in any area of the final third, which allows him to move across the front line during a match. This makes him very difficult to mark and to predict.
His style of play is dynamic and he is intelligent going forward, which prevents him from wasting possession when Leicester City have it. This was crucial in helping the coach Claudio Ranieri’s men make a fairy-tale run that culminated in their winning of the English Premier League title last season.
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What made Mahrez more dangerous last season was that he added goal scoring to his playmaking role - scoring an impressive 17 Premier league goals. He has scored just three this season, though.
Mahrez was voted PFA Players Player of the season, becoming the first African to attain such an enviable feat in the history of the Premier League. He subsequently won the BBC African Player of the Year award and the coveted CAF African Footballer of the Year award.
The 25-year-old made his debut for the Algerian national team in October 2014 and was selected for the 2015 AFCON in Equatorial Guinea, where he featured in all four games played by the Desert Foxes. He has played 27 times for Algeria, having scored six goals in the process.
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Sadio Mane
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His main strength is his dribbling ability. His close ball control, mazy footwork and impressive turn of pace can make him a nightmare for defenders to deal with. His movement and ability to get into goalscoring positions is also one of the better parts to his game. He would bring a more direct threat to the Liverpool attack.
He has had an interesting career to date. He formed his reputation in Austria, playing for Red Bull Salzburg. He scored lots of goals, while putting in some of his best performances in the Europa League, which brought him to the attention of a lot of clubs.
He hit the ground running at Liverpool, whom he joined before the start of this season, starting every single Premier league game he was fit for before leaving for the Africa Cup of Nations. He has scored an impressive nine goals for the Reds, including a sensational goal on his debut against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
Mane is at the forefront of his Senegal widely heralded ‘golden generation’, with his country’s former manager Claude Le Roy tipping him as a future Balon D’Or winner.
Andre Ayew
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The Black Stars deputy skipper is known for his high stamina, his ability to keep possession and his eye for goal. He is a charismatic figure and is seen as the future skipper of the Black Stars, a feat that would see him replicate that of his father Abedi Pele Ayew.
Andre Ayew has been one of the best performing midfielders on the African continent, having been consistent over the years at Marseille. He scored himself a transfer to the English Premier league side Swansea last season and didn’t wait long to make an impact, scoring on his debut against Chelsea and eventually being voted the Premier League Player for the month of August. At the end of the season, he emerged as the top scorer of Swansea with 12 goals and attracted interest from West United who paid a £20.6m club record fee to acquire him. However, he has had a poor start to his West Ham career due to an injury against Chelsea on his debut.
Ayew, 27 will be representing his nation in a fifth Africa Cup of Nation in Gabon, having previously played in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2015 editions, helping them finish runner-up in 2010 and 2015. He was joint top scorer of the 2015 edition too.
A high of his career came in 2011 when he won the BBC African Footballer of the Year award, and also coming third in CAF’s African Footballer of the year award. Ayew has featured three times in the CAF Team of the Year (2010, 2011 and 2015).
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Mohammed Salah
The Egyptian midfielder is predominantly known for his speed, dribbling skills, and ball control, as well as his ability to utilise both his pace and flair on the ball in order to beat opponents and create scoring opportunities for himself or his teammates.
His technical skills, pace, positioning and direct playing style have led him to be nicknamed the "Egyptian Messi", in the Italian media.
Salah really caught the attention of the world as a great player in 2013 when he was voted the Swiss Super League Player of the season. He played a key role in Egypt’s 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, scoring six goals (the highest goalscorer in the African World Cup qualifiers - shared with compatriot Mohamed Aboutrika and Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan) but Egypt eventually fell against Ghana in the final play-off.
Although Mohammed Salah failed to adapt to the English Premier League due to lack of much playing time at Chelsea, he has been amazing in the Serie A; with both Fiorentina and AS Roma and it now looks like he has got back the mojo he had in the Swiss league seasons back.
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Last season Salah was named Player of the Season at AS Roma, finishing as the club's top goalscorer with 15 goals in all competitions (14 in Serie A) and six assists.
Yacine Brahimi
The FC Porto winger or attacking midfielder is a technically gifted player. Brahimi is known for his great dribbling abilities and knack for taking on players. He has special moves to torment opposing teams, moves that have been described by Porto fans as "Momentos Brahimi" (Brahimi moves).
The 26-year reached a milestone in his career when he represented his nation Algeria in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. His great displays earned him the BBC African Footballer of the Year award. He was also part of the Algerian national team that participated in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea, featuring in all of the four games his side played. Brahimi was named the man of the match, although Algeria lost by a goal to nil in their second group game against Ghana. The Desert Foxes’s tournament ended with a quarter finals defeat against the eventual champions Ivory Coast.
Idrissa Gueye
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The 27-year-old defensive midfielder is a ball winner and gives opposing attacking midfielders a torrid time with his strength and stamina.
He represented Senegal in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London and also participated in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea, where the Teranga Lions failed to navigate through a group that had Ghana, Algeria and South Africa, despite winning their opener against the Black Stars.
He played in all 19 English Premier League games for Everton before departing for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon, making him one of the most in-form African midfielders in Europe.
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