Ahead of Monday?s awards ceremony to honour the year?s outstanding achievements in the African game and to crown Ademola Lookman as Africa?s Footballer of the Year, the Confederation of African Football had appeared to float the prospect that the Nigerian might miss out on a prize that appeared ? from a distance ? to be destined for him.

Instead of whittling down the five-man shortlist for the FOTY prize to a final three for Monday?s ceremony in Morocco, as is traditional, CAF instead revealed that, because the voting was ?too close to call?, all five nominees would be in attendance at the ceremony with any of the quintet still apparently in with a shot of winning the award.

This fuelled rumours throughout Monday, doing the rounds on Nigerian social media, and murmured in the hushed hallways of Marrakech?s Palais des Congr?s, that Lookman might miss out on the gong, with Achraf Hakimi of Paris Saint-Germain to be honoured instead.

It wouldn't be beyond the realms of possibility; the fullback had made the Ligue 1 Team of the Year while winning the title with PSG, and excelled at the Olympics as Morocco won the bronze medal.

Hakimi had finished second behind Victor Osimhen in 2023, and given his form both for club and country, and Morocco?s eminence within the confederation, the rumour began to gather momentum.

In truth, we?ve also been here before.

In 2008, Mohamed Aboutrika, then at the peak of his powers, clinched a CAF Champions League title with Al-Ahly and inspired Egypt to the second of their three-in-a-row Africa Cup of Nations titles, only to miss out to Emmanuel Adebayor of Arsenal.

It was the closest that one of the continent?s all-time greats ever came to winning Africa?s top individual prize, with CAF seeming to value the Togo frontman?s goal haul in the Premier League ? albeit without any honours ? above Aboutrika?s continent-based glories.

There were other such examples where CAF?s ?experts? were broadly considered to have got it wrong: Jay-Jay Okocha missing out to Mustapha Hadji in 1998, Nwankwo Kanu claiming it ahead of Champions League winner Sammy Kuffour a year later, AFCON champion John Obi Mikel being overlooked for Yaya Toure in 2013.

In hindsight, as Lookman stepped up to collect his award on Monday, there was surely no chance that even CAF, their panel, and the alleged closeness of the voting, would have condemned him to the ranks of Africa?s ?nearly men?.

Instead, he becomes the 40th individual to be named African Footballer of the Year, and the sixth Nigerian to clinch the award, following in the footsteps of Rashidi Yekini, Emmanuel Amuneke, Nwankwo Kanu, Victor Ikpeba and last year?s winner, Victor Osimhen.

?This award is a blessing, to be recognised as best player in Africa is something incredible,? Lookman told ESPN. ?Four years ago my career felt down but now I?m here as the best player in Africa. Don?t let your failures stop your dreams.?

Certainly, Lookman?s journey to the top has been more convoluted and far less linear than many of his predecessors.

Born in Wandsworth ? he?s the fourth Europe-born player to be named Africa?s finest ? Lookman struggled to make an impression at Everton under Sam Allardyce, having signed in a ?7.5 million-deal from Charlton Athletic.

?Coming from South London was tough,? he added. ?It?s never been easy, but to be recognised like this, having come from there is special.?

A loan move to RB Leipzig in 2018 ? infamously ignoring Allardyce?s preference for him to move to Derby County instead ? proved to be something of a false dawn, as the youngster scored five in 11 but then failed to transform that goalscoring form back to Goodison Park.

He struggled to ignite upon a permanent return to Leipzig, and subsequent loan spells at Fulham and Leicester City highlighted his glittering talent, but also a lack of consistently ? and sometimes, cutting edge.

A switch to Atalanta In 2022 for ?15 million in 2022 meant another fresh start, the opportunity to try again in a new league, and to find some stability in a career in which he?d played for different clubs in each of the previous five campaigns.

For the first time in his career, Lookman hit double figures in 22-23, registering 13 after taking immediately to Serie A, and followed that up with 11 last term as La Dea qualified for the Champions League.

Last term, he truly took his game to new heights, culminating in this prize.

The highlight, of course, was his hat-trick in the Europa League final as Atalanta dispatched Bayer Leverkusen, previously undefeated in 51 matches, to win the first continental honour in their history, and their first major honour since 1963.

Never before has an African player netted three times in the final of a major UEFA competition, while no one at all had ever struck three in the Europa League/UEFA Cup final since 1975. In hitting three against Bayer, Lookman became only the fifth player in history to score a hat-trick in a major European continental cup final.

This was the highlight of another excellent season with Atalanta, where he was named their Player of the Year and was included in the Europa League?s Team of the Season. In total, he contributed 18 goals and assists combined in Serie A, proving that, up against some of Europe?s sternest defenders, he could be a difference-maker consistently during the course of the campaign.

He's maintained that form this term, scoring eight (only three players have more) and registering four assists in 13 top tier outings for Atalanta. No one is averaging more chances created per match than the Nigerian, who is both settling contests himself and getting the best out of those around him.

Ultimately, with the national side, Lookman was unable to get the Super Eagles past the final hurdle at the Africa Cup of Nations, as they were defeated by hosts Ivory Coast in an emotional final at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan.

However, they surely wouldn?t have even reached this stage without Lookman?s creativity and critical interventions, particularly with Victor Osimhen not at his best. Notably, Lookman scored both goals in the Last 16 triumph over Cameroon, as well as the winner against Angola in the quarterfinals. Without him, there would have been no AFCON final, and the 27-year-old was duly named in the Team of the Tournament.

Despite his achievements this term, Lookman still doesn?t have the status and reputation of previous winners of the individual award; there?s been no major role In winning a major league, as had been the case for Yaya Toure, Osimhen, or Riyad Mahrez, nor had he broken a long-standing record like Mohamed Salah in 2018 or won the Champions League, like Sadio Mane a year later.

There was no AFCON title ? Patrick Mboma in 2000, Amuneke in 1994 ? nor a glittering World Cup showing ? Hadji in ?98, El Hadji Diouf in 2002, Roger Milla in 1990. Yet despite this, he?s a worthy winner, having impressed for club and country, made history in the Europa League, clinched a major honour, and established himself as one of the most eye-catching players in one of the world?s biggest leagues.

Most excitingly, there?s surely more to come, and with reported transfer interest from some of Europe?s biggest sides, Lookman should be better positioned for the biggest prizes in the years to come. With Atalanta top of Serie A, he may yet follow in Osimhen?s footsteps with a Scudetto as well.

He'll face stern competition for his title next year, with Hakimi surely in line for honours with PSG, Osimhen set to come back strongly at Galatasarary and beyond, Salah still tearing it up in the Prem, and emerging faces like Nicolas Jackson, Bryan Mbeumo and Omar Marmoush all likely to be in the reckoning during an AFCON year. (ESPN)

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