Black Stars head coach Kwesi Appiah has backed Egypt star Mohamed Salah to win the CAF’s 2017 African Player of the Year.

The Liverpool superstar is the favourite to land the coveted award early next year ahead of teammate Sadio Mane and Dortmund star Aubameyang, following a scintillating 12 months for club and country.

His form over the past year has led to the former Black Stars captain declaring that the former Chelsea player should win the glittering prize in January.

In an interview with Asempa FM after CAF announced its final shortlist for 2017 awards, Appiah said: ‘’The three [Mane, Salah and Aubameyang] deserve to be on the three-man shortlist but if you ask me, i would pick Salah for the award’’.

If you look at his performance with Egypt, it’s either he is scoring or creating for others to score. He was instrumental as they [Egypt] qualified for the World Cup and then at club side, he is performing very well.’’

Salah helped Egypt secure a final berth at the Africa Cup of Nations, where they lost 2-1 to Cameroon, back in January before his five goals ensured the Pharaohs qualified for their first World Cup since 1990 at the expense of Ghana.

Salah bagged an impressive 17 goals in all competitions for Roma, which landed him a mega-money transfer to Liverpool in the summer. 

He is currently the leading top scorer in the league with 14 goals and has a total of 20 strikes in all competitions for the Reds. 

Salah has already won the BBC African Footballer of the Year award. 

The winner will be decided by votes from the Head Coaches/Technical Directors of the National Associations affiliated to CAF, members of the CAF Technical and Development Committee and a panel of Media Experts.

The Awards Gala will be held on Thursday, 4 January 2018 in Accra, Ghana.

Nigerian energy giants, Aiteo, are the headline sponsors of next year’s edition that will see players, officials and administrators who distinguished themselves exemplary during the year under review being honoured for their efforts towards the development of the game on the continent.