'What happened?', asks Jackson as Chelsea ace snubbed from award shortlist

CHELSEA ace Nicolas Jackson addressed the controversial African Player of the Year shortlist that includes some major omissions, such as Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah.

The Confederation of African Football released the list of players who are nominated for this year’s esteemed POTY award but sparked a heated debate.

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The list includes Brighton‘s Simon Adingra, Rennes’ Amine Gouiri, Borussia Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy, Paris Saint-Germain’s Achraf Hakimi, Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman, Marseille’s Chancel Mbemba, Al-Ain’s Soufiane Rahimi, Bayer Leverkusen’s Edmond Tapsoba, Al-Kholood’s William Troost-Ekong and Mamelodi Sundowns’ Ronwen Williams.

However, some big names were left out, such as West Ham‘s Mohammed Kudus, Real Madrid’s Brahim Diaz, Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface as well as Jackson and Salah.

The Chelsea ace was left baffled and took to social media to express his surprise.

Jackson posted on his Instagram story: “What happened?!”

Salah, 32, stood out for Liverpool once more last season as he won the Carabao Cup and amassed a staggering 25 goals and 14 assists in 44 appearances across all competitions.

The Egypt international broke another record just an hour into the new season only two months ago as he recorded the most opening-day goals in Premier League history.

Senegalese star Jackson, 23, has been on fire for Chelsea this season with five goals and three assists in eight Prem matches.

Ghanaian ace Kudus already counts 16 goals in 55 matches for West Ham after only moving to east London a year ago.

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Boniface was among the brightest African stars last season as he played a key role in Leverkusen’s historic Bundesliga triumph, which saw them winning their first ever title undefeated.

The Nigeria international scored 21 goals and produced 10 assists in 34 matches for Xabi Alonso’s side last term.

And Moroccan star Diaz helped Real win LaLiga as well as the Champions League.

But none of those exploits were enough to make the shortlist.