With the new year well underway, ESPN profile eight African players who appear primed to write the continent’s biggest footballing stories in 2025.
Whether as breakout stars, headline makers, or players set to make a difference for their clubs and countries, these eight appear set for a major year in their careers.
The outstanding player in the Premier League – if not the world – so far this season, and on course to inspire his beloved Liverpool to another title, all seems to be going well in the world of Mohamed Salah.
Of course, that’s not the case, with one of the Reds legend’s finest hours coinciding with an apparently degrading relationship with the Merseyside giants amidst an ongoing contractual impasse.
At the time of writing, the 32-year-old hasn’t agreed to Liverpool’s latest offer, and now entering the final six months of his contract, he’s at liberty to speak to foreign suitors.
“It’s my last year in the club so [I] want to do something special for the city,” he told Sky Sports last week, indicating strongly again that he was bound for the departure lounge. It’s the last six months, there is no progress there.
“We are far away from any progress, so we just need to wait and see.”
Expect Salah to dominate the headlines again this year, as collective and individual honours come his way, and this transfer saga will only intensify until he puts pen to paper… with Liverpool or someone else.
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Klopp: I hope Salah stays at Liverpool
Jürgen Klopp speaks about his hopes of Mohamed Salah extending his contract at Liverpool.
Overall, it was something of a quiet 2024 for Osimhen who, like Salah, was completely overlooked for the CAF African Footballer of the Year award.
Amidst recurrent fitness and injury problems, the 26-year-old didn’t hit the heights of his Scudetto-winning season with Napoli, although he did nonetheless play a role in Nigeria‘s run to the Africa Cup of Nations final, and has impressed since moving to Galatasaray on loan.
This year will surely bring an end to his temporary stay in Turkey, while expect him also – finally – to secure a permanent move away from Napoli and Aurelio De Laurentiis.
Transfer talk will dominate the Osimhen agenda until the summer – alongside goals, one hopes – before he should be able to focusing on the next chapter of his career, and re-establishing himself as one of the world’s top strikers, at one of Europe’s genuine giants.
Africa’s revelation of the season so far, Marmoush reaches January with a combined 21 goals and assists in the Bundesliga, with his 14 goals putting him second behind only Harry Kane in the race for the Golden Boot.
The Eintracht Frankfurt forward has already surpassed his 12-goal haul from last term, and German top flight defences are consistently failing to neutralise the North African’s direct running and astute finishing.
Transfer talk is increasingly mounting, although while Marmoush appears destined to become Mohamed Salah’s successor with the national team, it appears more likely that he may end up becoming his compatriot’s adversary in the Premier League, with Manchester City named as potential suitors.
With fees of around €80 million being mooted, don’t expect Marmoush to still be with Eintracht come the year’s end.
Assan Ouedraogo
Another Germany-based star, Burkinabe wonderkid Ouedraogo made headlines when he signed for RB Leipzig in a €10 million deal in June, reportedly spurning the interest of Bayern Munich in the process.
While we’ve only seen glimpses of his talent for Leipzig in the Bundesliga so far, the 18-year-old appears primed for a big 2025, having been slowly introduced to competitive action through November by head coach Marco Rose.
Manchester United and Liverpool were also named as potential suitors for the attacking midfielder last year, and expect Ouedraogo’s combination of bold, direct dribbling, impressive physical qualities and instinctive spontaneity to pique the interest of sporting directors again through 2025.
Togo striker Denkey won the illustrious Ebony Shoe – awarded to the best African player in Belgian football – last year, following in the footsteps of the likes of Daniel Amokachi, Victor Ikpeba and Mido.
His 27 league goals earned him the Golden Boot, and fired Cercle Brugge into the UEFA Conference League, although it was already appearing likely that a bigger club would swoop to sign the former Nimes frontman.
Eyebrows were raised when it was Major League Soccer rookies FC Cincinnati recruited the West African, and even more so when it was revealed that he was moving to the TQL Stadium for $16.2 million – a MLS record transfer fee.
Something of a late bloomer, Denkey’s relationship with Lucho Acosta should be central to the Orange and Blue’s success, and he has the potential to become the MLS’s next great African forward, after the likes of Mamadou Diallo, Kei Kamara and Obafemi Martins.
Initially, there were queries about where Amad Diallo would fit into Ruben Amorim’s plans at Manchester United, with the wideman expected to be shoehorned into an unfamiliar wingback role that wouldn’t necessarily play to his strengths.
That’s what happened in Amorim’s opening 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town, where Diallo nonetheless excelled and registered an assist for Marcus Rashford‘s opener.
Since then, he’s gone from strength to strength under the new man, scoring the last-gasp winner against Manchester City and a late equaliser against Liverpool last month.
Having been under-utilised and seemingly un-trusted by Erik Ten Hag, Diallo now finds himself as one of the first names on the teamsheet under Amorim, although he’s forced his way into the side as one of the Red Devils’ two supporting forwards, allowing him to make a greater offensive impact.
The 22-year-old is on the cusp of the biggest year of his career yet.
1:55
The similarities between Rashford’s situation and Aubameyang’s Arsenal exit
Mark Ogden and James Olley discuss how similar Marcus Rashford’s current situation at Manchester United is to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s final days at Arsenal in 2022 on “The Football Reporters”.
Is the Esperance stopper set to become Africa’s next great goalkeeper?
Still only 20, the early signs have been promising, with the Tunisia youngster excelling for the North African giants both domestically and in CAF competitions, while also receiving his first invitation for the national side.
Registering 11 clean sheets across 13 matches in the CAF Champions League in 2023-24 was a magnificent achievement for the rookie keeper, who also made several key stops albeit in an aggregate 1-0 defeat by Al-Ahly in the final.
2025 will bring the Club World Cup – Esperance have been drawn with Flamengo, Chelsea and Leon in the group stage – and later the World Cup for the towering stopper.
Such has been 17-year-old Nwaneri’s rise to prominence at Arsenal, that the club are already lamenting his current injury absence, even though the forward is still only 17 and with just 14 league appearances under his belt.
However, after stepping into a more prominent role at Arsenal following Bukayo Saka‘s injury setback, the English top flight’s youngest ever player has already demonstrated why he can be a difference-maker for Mikel Arteta’s title hopefuls.
During 2025, when he returns to fitness, Nwaneri should add to his PL tally of two goals, while Arteta should enjoy developing a genuine wonderkid who appears to have the qualities to thrive either as a wide player cutting inside or a more central playmaker.
