Super Eagles defender Kenneth Omeruo tags CAF as he hails Ademola Lookman's stunning Europa League final performance.
Super Eagles defender Kenneth Omeruo has tipped Ademola Lookman for the African Player of the Year award after the Nigerian forward's historic hat-trick fired Atalanta to Europa League glory against Bundesliga Invincibles Bayer Leverkusen.
Lookman emerged as the hero in Dublin, his treble securing a 3-0 win and inflicting a first defeat of the season on the previously unbeaten German champions on Wednesday night.
Omeruo anoints Lookman CAF POTY
The 26-year-old's man-of-the-match display left his Super Eagles teammate Omeruo purring, with the defender taking to Twitter to anoint Lookman as the continent's outstanding player.
"@CAF_Online your African Player of the year... @Alookman_ top player," Omeruo posted, tagging the Confederation of African Football's official account.
Lookman's virtuoso performance capped a dream first season in Italy, with his 15 goals in all competitions playing a pivotal role in Atalanta's surprise Europa League triumph.
His hat-trick heroics also shattered Bayer Leverkusen's dreams of an unprecedented unbeaten campaign, with Nigerian duo Victor Boniface and Nathan Tella enduring a night to forget.
While devastated at missing out on the trophy, the Leverkusen pair can take solace from their immense contributions to writing their names into Bundesliga history books.
But this was Lookman's night as he added his name to Nigerian football's list of European heroes with a performance for the ages on the biggest stage.
If Omeruo's ringing endorsement is anything to go by, the former Everton and Leipzig man may soon have more prestigious individual honours to add to his Europa League winner's medal.
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