Mikel nominated for EPL award

Mikel Obi will battle Swansea striker Wilfried Bony, Sadio Mane of Southamp­ton, as well as Alex Song from West Ham for the best African performer in the EPL for the month of December.
Giving details, New Af­rican Soccer’s Awards Di­rector and CEO, Tunde Ad­elakun stated that the choice was a difficult one, given the busy schedule of games in the EPL in December.
“We had varying and diverse opinions from our followers, and this is under­standable,” he said, “given the many matches that were played in December and the involvement of a high num­ber of Africans.”

“Wilfried Bony has fea­tured in the shortlist on two occasions in the past, as he continued to lead the line for Swansea City. His physi­cal presence, tenacity and knack for goals has brought the attention of many clubs to him, and Swansea might have a job keeping him with the January transfer win­dow looming. Swansea has dropped marginally in the EPL log but Bony’s pres­ence and impact is notice­able”, Adelakun said.
Southampton’s Sadio Mane, 22, had been in good form as he settled down gradually into his role at the southern coast club, and Ad­elakun was quick to provide justification for his inclusion in the shortlist.
“Mane is young and very skilful, and he brings something different into the Southampton team. He has taken time to settle, but from the games he played in De­cember, one can see what a real asset he is turning into.”