The BBC announced at the beginning of November the five nominees for African player of the year for 2013 and we discuss their chances of landing the prestigious trophy. Pierre Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon and Dortmund): The striker who left Saint Etienne this season to join Dortmund started his journey in Germany in spectacular fashion as he notched a hat-trick against Augsburg away from home in the opening game of the league. Debuts don't go better than that and the travelling fans sang his name during the entire game. The emphatic Aubameyang had an incredible season with St Etienne in 2012 as he scored 19 league goals and set up their winner in the final of the cup. He was chased by a host of top European clubs from all over Europe including Tottenham and Newcastle. He chose the German giants as he believed their style of play will suit his own game which was shown straight away. Aubameyang already scored eight goals in 10 starts and 19 appearances in total for Dortmund which is undoubtedly a tremendous record given he's yet to fully settle in Germany. Moreover, the prolific striker is also deadly when he plays for Gabon and has 12 goals in 20 starts and 34 appearances in total for his national team. Dortmund's manager Jurgen Klopp said recently that although Aubameyang is not starting every game for the club, he already made a magnificent impact and is leaving a great impression in one of the most talented squads in Europe. The 24-year-old is definitely a worthy nominee for African player of the year after a tremendous year that saw him finish the French league as the second best player and second top scorer behind the incredible Zlatan Ibrahimovic in addition to the great start in Germany with Dortmund. Jonathan Pitroipa (Burkina Faso and Rennes): The name may not be so familiar to football fans in general but is definitely very well known to African and French football fans. Pitroipa is a hell of a winger who's got everything in his game starting with beating full backs with ease all the way to scoring exceptional goals. Piroipa is a joy to watch and a player who lights up games with his dazzling dribbles, amazing skills and penetrating pace. The last African Cup of Nations saw Pitroipa stealing the show from Africa's better known stars and was the first Burkinabe player ever to win player of the tournament as he guided his national team to the final where they lost to Nigeria by a single goal. Pitroipa's show didn't stop at the African cup as Burkina Faso travel to Algeria leading 3-2 in the final qualifying round of the World Cup with Pitroipa scoring one and assisting one in a man of the match performance in the first leg. If the 27-year-old star manages to take his low profile nation to Brazil next summer, you can consider him an African legend and a national hero. Victor Moses (Nigeria and Liverpool): Unlike Pitroipa, Moses has been one of the most famous African names in the continent for years now. The current Liverpool winger who moved to the Reds at the beginning of this season on loan from European Cup holders Chelsea has been a revelation in the English Premier League for the last five or six years even though he still has some way to go before he reaches the status of the likes of Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure. Moses started his English journey with Crystal Palace and moved to Wigan Athletic in 2010 after three breathtaking years in the Championship with Palace where he showed he's ready to take his game to another level in the Premier League. The Nigerian star didn't take time to settle with his new club and immediately became a fans favourite and saved his club from relegation in two consecutive years with some very important goals until he moved to Chelsea in August 2012 after Wigan accepted the fifth offer from Chelsea for their star man. The fierce competition as Stamford Bridge limited his chances in the starting 11 but he still managed to make a great impression whenever he was given the chance. In the African Cup of Nations in 2013, Moses flourished with his national team as they clinched the title and Moses was chosen in the team of the tournament after scoring two goals and setting up five. Moses moved to Liverpool this season to get more minutes on the field and scored on his debut against Swansea away from home with a very nice shot to introduce himself to the fans in admirable fashion. John Obi Mikel (Nigeria and Chelsea): John Obi Mikel's story with football is simply enough to put him among Africa's best players without even paying attention to his performances on the pitch. From April 2005 until June 2006 Manchester United and Chelsea were fighting with each other in courts for the signature of the player as his agents messed everything up after agreeing deals with both clubs. In the end Chelsea agreed to pay Manchester United 12 million English pounds to leave them the player which was one of the most amazing moves in the history of English football! A club pays another club money to buy a player from a third party in the form of Norwegian club Lyn which only got 4 million pounds to sell the player to Chelsea! Football fans that followed the story for 10 months were as eager as Chelsea and Man Utd fans to watch the player on the field after all what happened. From that point to the current moment, the player has been on the up even though Chelsea changed his position and style of play completely. The player who used to play as an attacking midfielder were deployed as a holding midfielder by Jose Mourinho who believed that the Nigerian star would do great in that position. Today one of the stars of the last African Cup of Nations and the captain of Nigeria guided them to the trophy in addition to winning the Champions League and Europa League with Chelsea in the last two years. Three massive trophies in the last two seasons will surely give Mikel a very big chance of securing a personal trophy in the form of African player of the year. Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast and Manchester City): Finally we have Yaya Toure the Ivorian superstar who's definitely the frontrunner for claiming the prize at the end of the year. Toure is the only African player to be chosen among the best 30 players in the world in 2013. The towering midfielder is maybe the only African world class player in the world at the moment after the decline of ageing mega stars Samuel Eto'o and Didier Drogba. Toure has been Manchester City's vice captain and one of their best players in the last two years and even though 2013 wasn't his best of years in terms of silverware, few would argue about the fact that Toure is Africa's best player by some distance and will probably stay at the top for another two years until the likes of Aubameyang and others gain some experience that can help them compete at the very top. In less than two months, the world will know who is the best player in Africa in 2013, at least in BBC's eyes. The winner will be announced on Monday, 2 December at 17:35 GMT on the BBC's Focus on Africa radio and television programmes
