SUPER Eagles striker Victor Boniface has given himself the edge over national team colleague Ademola Lookman in the race for the 2024 African Player of the Year award.
Boniface contributed 21 goals and 10 assists in his first season at Bayer Leverkusen as the club won their first Bundesliga title and the DFB-Pokal trophy in the 2023/2024 campaign.
Lookman, on his part, scored 10 goals and made 10 assists in all competitions, including a historic hat-trick in the final of the UEFA Europa League against Boniface’s club, as Atalanta won the European competition in May.
Lookman also featured at the Africa Cup of Nations in February scored three goals as the Super Eagles reached the final, and was named in the Team of the Tournament, while Boniface missed the showpiece through injury.
“Probably between me and Lookman. I will go for myself as the African Footballer of the Year, I rate myself that high,” he said in an interview on SportyTV’s YouTube channel when asked who he thinks deserves to win the award this year.
“If it’s just what we did last season, I’ll pick myself.”
Among other things, the 23-year-old also spoke on the protracted summer transfer saga surrounding Victor Osimhen, with whom he shares some level of closeness.
“Three different parties – Napoli, Chelsea, Victor Osimhen. Osimhen’s mentality is strong. I know he really wants to come to the Premier League,” the former Union Saint-Gilloise attacker stated.
“I know that for sure because we spoke one time but whatever happened I don’t know. He knows I always wish him the best.
“There’s stuff that happened that nobody knows but people just talk on the internet. There are some details that people don’t know.”
Boniface has already registered four goals and one assist in six matches for Leverkusen.
