With the 34th edition of the African Cup of Nations (set to be hosted in Côte D’Ivoire) just a few days away, it is pertinent to preview the tournament by taking a close look at some of the continent’s most in-form players heading into the competition.

We start with the Ghanaian sensation who is tearing it up in the English Premier League for West Ham United. Mohamed Kudus joined the Hammers in the summer for a fee just shy of £40million and has quickly become a fan favourite in London.

His work-rate, dribbling ability, goalscoring prowess and iconic goal celebration has seen him quickly establish himself in David Moyes’ lineup. An unfortunate injury to striker Michail Antonio handed the 23 year old his chance in the starting XI and he hasn’t looked back since.

Kudus is in the form of his life heading into only his second ever AFCON. He was a part of the Ghana squad that fell to a disappointing group stage exit in 2021 but didn’t feature for a single minute. Since then, he’s grown into the side’s talisman and will relish another tournament with the Black Stars after standing out at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

He’s netted 14 goals and laid on 2 assists in a total of 26 appearances for Ajax and West Ham this season. He’s in truly sizzling form for the Hammers, netting 7 goals in his last 12 outings. Last time out, he helped put Manchester United to the sword with an arrowed finish into the bottom corner before hitting his already iconic celebration of sitting on the advertisment boards.

Kudus has got two more fixtures with the Hammers before he joins up with the Black Stars squad in Côte D’Ivoire. There’s another big game, this time away to table topping Arsenal on Thursday December 28th, before the visit of Brighton on 2nd January. Black Stars head coach Chris Hughton will be keeping his fingers crossed that his star player avoids any injury before the tournament. He knows full well that this could be an AFCON dominated by Kudus.

Written by: Fritz Addison.