Nigerian international Ademola Lookman is in contention for this year's CAF Footballer of the Year award.

Lookman, 26, has been in remarkable form since joining Atalanta from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2022.

The Super Eagles star was Atalanta’s standout performer last season, starring in the Europa League final with a historic hat-trick against Bayer Leverkusen to guide the Serie A outfit to their first-ever European title.

Lookman's brilliant campaign earned him a 14th place ranking in the 2024 Ballon d'Or ceremony, becoming the only African star to make France Football's 30-man shortlist.

As we approach the CAF award in the next two weeks, the conversation surrounding who deserves the prestigious award has begun to gather momentum.

Former coach of Southampton U-23 team, Radhi Jaïdi, has weighed into the conversation, tipping Nigeria's Ademola Lookman as the candidate who is well-positioned for the prestigious award.

“I think that the Nigerian Ademola Lookman seems best placed to win this personal distinction, especially after his remarkable achievement of scoring a hat-trick for Atalanta Bergamo in the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen,” Jaïdi told Foot Africa.

Lookman faces competition from Simon Adingra (Côte d'Ivoire/Brighton & Hove Albion), Serhou Guirassy (Guinea/Borussia Dortmund), Achraf Hakimi (Morocco/Paris Saint-Germain), and Ronwen Williams (South Africa/Mamelodi Sundowns).

The 2024 CAF Awards will be held in Marrakech, Morocco on Monday, December 16.