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By Ebenezer Bajela
According to the world’s most popular and fastest-growing football statistics website, WhoScored.com, Super Eagles striker, Victor Boniface, has been rated the highest African player in the Top 5 leagues in Europe, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Even though he has been out for over three months, the Bayer Leverkusen striker boasts a rating of 7.81, the highest by any African player across the Top 5 leagues in Europe.
The Nigeria international has been outstanding for Bayer Leverkusen since he joined from Belgian club Royale Union SG last summer in a deal worth in excess of €20m plus add-ons, helping them go top of the Bundesliga table before picking the adductor injury that ruled him out of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.
The 23-year-old is Bayer’s top scorer this season with 16 goals and eight assists in 23 games across all competitions.
His performances for the club earned him Bundesliga Rookie of The Month awards for four straight months.
Occupying the second position is Ghana’s Inaki Williams with a rating of 7.29.
The forward has been in fantastic form for Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish league and despite playing as a winger, the 29-year-old has 16 goals contribution (11 goals and five assists) in 30 games across all competitions.
Coincidentally, Los Leones poor run of form in the 2023/24 season was in January, the same time the player was on international duty with Ghana at the AFCON.
Since his return from the AFCON, Bilbao have played 11 games, won seven, and lost one with three drawn. He was the hero as the San Manes outfit dumped Barcelona out of the Copa del Rey on January 24.
Inaki’s compatriot, Mohammed Kudus, has been outstanding for Premier League club West Ham United and it came as no surprise that he is Africa’s third highest-rated player in Europe.
With 15 goals and five assists from 37 games across all competitions, the 23-year-old is the highest-scoring midfielder in Europe in the 2023/24 season.
The left-footed midfielder joined the Hammers from Ajax during the summer for €40m but has seen his value rise to €50m due to his impressive performances.
Cameroonian’s Bryan Mbeumo has been in superb form for Brentford, scoring seven goals and four assists from 16 appearances and occupies the fourth position on the ratings.
The striker was in contention for a spot in the Indomitable Lions squad for the AFCON before he was ruled out through injury.
While he hasn’t taken to the pitch since December after an ankle surgery, he is still considered among the best African players in Europe’s Top 5 leagues due to his fine start to the season.
Another Ghanaian, Jordan Ayew, makes the list of the highest-performing African players in Europe’s Top 5 leagues as he sits fifth in the rankings released by Whoscored.com.
The forward with €4m market value has a rating of 6.97 after making 28 appearances for Crystal Palace with 11-goal contribution (four goals and seven assists).
The 32-year-old, who has 92 appearances for the Black Star, was on target during Ghana’s 2-1 defeat to Nigeria in Morocco last Friday.
Surprisingly, 2023 African Player of The Year, Victor Osimhen, ranks sixth with a rating of 6.91.
The striker has not been able to replicate his last season’s superlative performance that helped Napoli claim the Serie title for the first time in over three decades.
While a return of 13 goals and four assists is not a bad contribution from a striker, for a player of his standard, it is generally seen as below par.
The Eagles striker will hope to put up a good show in what is left of the season, with Napoli having been knocked out of the UEFA Champions League by Barcelona and in seventh position from runaway league leaders Inter Milan.
Unexpectedly, Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye stands next to Osimhen in the player rankings with a 6.88 rating.
The 24-year-old has rediscovered his form with Udinese since making his first appearance for the club on December 30, 2023, having been left on the bench for the first 17 league games of the season.
In his last 12 appearances, the Nigerian keeper has managed to keep three clean sheets while conceding 16 goals in the process.
Andre Onana’s resurgence since his return from the AFCON earns the Manchester United goalkeeper a spot among the high-performing African players in Europe with a rating of 6.87.
Onana has kept four clean sheets from nine games since returning from international duty with Cameroon.
Against Aston Villa in February, the goalkeeper made a commendable eight saves from 10 shots on target he faced while making another six against Everton.
With a rating of 6.77, Liverpool and Cameroon defender Joel Matip occupies the ninth position.
The 32-year-old’s season has been blighted by a cruciate ligament injury he suffered in December, reducing his appearances to just 10 so far this campaign.
However, his fine start before the injury means he is still considered among the best players from the continent this season.