The Ghana midfielder is joined by his Chelsea Ivorian teammate Didier Drogba, who is a strong candidate for the award.

Drogba led the goalscoring charts in the Premiership last season, as he scored the winners for the Blues in both, the Carling Cup final against Arsenal and the FA Cup final against Manchester United.

A third Premiership-based African to join the list was Arsenal's Togolese hitman Emmanuel Adebayor, who is the current top scorer in England.

Spanish based duo Frederic Kanoute and Samuel Eto'o completed the list, despite the latter's injury-hit year, which saw the Barcelona ace sit out for long spells.

On the other hand, Mali forward Kanoute enjoyed a magnificent year with Sevilla, leading the Andalucian side to the UEFA and Spanish Super Cup trophies.

Kanoute has been also influential on the international level, helping Mali reach the 2008 African Cup of Nations.

In 2005, Ahli winger Mohamed Barakat clinched the accolade, following his CAF Champions League triumph with the Reds.

Barakat's colleague Mohamed Abou-Treika was also nominated last year, but he missed out as Essien won it.