Harambee Stars captain Victor Wanyama among nominees for EPL award

Victor Wanyama

Harambee Stars captain Victor Wanyama is among the four nominees short-listed for the English Premier League African Player of the Month award for September.

In a statement by organisers New African Soccer, four names top the nominations list.

Stoke City’s Chelsea loanee, Nigeria’s Victor Moses, put in some excellent performances in the course of September, impressing against QPR and setting up the winning goal by Peter Crouch against Newcastle recently.

His overall play and commitment had attracted very positive comments from his manager, Mark Hughes, and team-mates.

Senegalese Diafra Sakho, who plays as striker for West Ham, has brought something different into the team. Having made a debut late in August, Sakho settled down and has struck a decent partnership with fellow striker Valencia at Upton Park. Sakho has scored in each of his team’s three league games in September, including an audacious chip over Liverpool goalie Mignolet in a 3-1 win.

Becoming the first Kenyan to play in the Premier League seems to spur Victor Wanyama on, and he has been pivotal to the enviable second position that Southampton occupies in the Premier League. Wanyama has been rock-solid in the Saints' midfield and topped a good performance in the month by becoming the first ever Kenyan to score a goal in the Premier League, the only goal in a win away at Swansea.

Mohamed Diame, ex-West Ham player who now plies his trade with Hull City has been, as ever, rock solid. He has contributed to the growing reputation of Africans holding midfield role and has taken it to Hull City.

Diame posted some decent performances in September and even chipped in with a goal in the 2-2 draw against his former employers.

The nominations were made by a combination of fans’ votes as well as the scrutiny of the New African Soccer technical panel.

The winner of the September award will be announced tomorrow.