Egyptian duo Mohamed Salah and Mohamed Elneny have been included in CAF's preliminary list for the 2016 African Player of the Year award. AS Roma winger Salah and Arsenal midfielder Elneny made a 30-man list drawn up by the African governing body on Saturday. The list also included the likes of Algeria's Riyad Mahrez, who plays for English champions Leicester City, compatriot and club teammate Islam Slimani and former Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o although he is way past his prime. Salah, who joined Roma from Chelsea in the summer of 2015, scored 15 goals in all competitions last season, including 14 in the Italian Serie A as his side finished third in the table behind champions Juventus and runners-up Napoli. He began the new term strongly, netting three goals in the first seven league games although he was criticised by coach Luciano Spalletti for wasting some easy chances. Central midfielder Elneny was a key member of Arsenal's starting line-up in the second half of last season after joining from Swiss side Basel in January, scoring once in a UEFA Champions League last-16 clash at Barcelona although the Gunners were eliminated with a 5-1 aggregate loss. However, he is mostly confined to the bench in the new season, with coach Arsene Wenger preferring to play new arrival Granit Xhaka instead. There were also other Egyptians present in the preliminary list of another CAF award. Zamalek's trio Bassem Morsi, Ayman Hefni and Ali Gabr were included in a 25-man list for the best African-based player after helping their team reach the African Champions League final for the first time since 2002. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
