Lookman is enjoying his best moment in front of goal
and is in the running to dethrone compatriot Osimhen as CAF Best Player of the
Year.
The 27-year-old enjoyed a near-perfect 2023/24
campaign and the current season even better, with the player having found the
back of the net on eight occasions, providing five assists.
Despite missing the first few games of the season due
to future uncertainties at Napoli, Osimhen has entrenched his name as one of
the best strikers in modern-day football.
Since joining Galatasaray on a season-long loan on the
last day of the transfer window, the former Lille striker has settled in
nicely, with his goals and general team play making him the fans’ favourite.
With eight goals and four assists in nine appearances,
Napoli’s €130m price tag on the 25-year-old is more than justified.
Completing the fearsome trio is Boniface, who is
already Bayer Leverkusen’s top scorer for the season with eight goals.
Aside from registering his name on the scoresheets on
those occasions, the 23-year-old has provided an assist, taking his goal
contributions to nine in 15 games.
No other country in the world boasts such an
intimidating attack, and Eguavoen will be looking to terrorise the Cheetahs in
Ivory Coast and devour the Amavubi in Uyo to send a message to the rest of
Africa.
This has sent shivers down the spine of Benin Republic
coach and former Eagles handler Gernot Rohr, who has expressed his fears ahead
of Thursday’s face-off.
“We see that in your list, you have Victor Osimhen,
Lookman, Moses Simon, and all the big strikers. For me, Lookman is the best one
in Africa to win the Golden Award for the Footballer of the Year; he is a
fantastic player. But I hope he will not score against us like he did in the
last game in Uyo,” he said.
Coincidentally, both Lookman and Osimhen were on
target the last time Nigeria and Benin Republic squared off in the reverse
fixture in July, when the three-time African champions defeated their
neighbours 3-0 in Uyo.
The fixture will also provide Boniface the opportunity
to end his international goal drought.
Nigeria are top of Group D with 10 points, and a win
will guarantee them a spot at the next AFCON finals in Morocco, rendering the
result of Monday’s game against Rwanda irrelevant.
Credit Punch Newspapers
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