Nigerian striker, Odion Ighalo, has seen off stiff competition from the duo of Mesut Ozil and Dele Alli to win his first Premier League Player of the Month Award.
Ighalo, who has
been nominated repeatedly in the past, finally got the morale boosting reward
as he emerged as the best player in England’s top flight league for the last
month of 2015.
He scored five
goals in the month, including two in the Vicarage Road win over Liverpool, to
take his tally for the season to 13, tied for third in the league behind Romelu
Lukaku and Jamie Vardy.
His coach, Quique
Sanchez Flores, has also been named the EPL Coach of the Month for December.
A creditable draw
at Stamford Bridge followed four wins in a row including the victory at Aston
Villa at the end of November, before Watford finished the year with a
last-ditch loss at home to Spurs.
The Hornets won
their first three games in the month to climb the table and only lost their
unbeaten record just after Christmas when they were beaten 2-1 by Tottenham.
Ighalo now joins the exclusive list of
Nigerian players like Osaze Odemwingie, Yakubu Aiyegbeni and Jay Jay Okocha who
at different times had been voted best player of the month in England’s top
flight.
