Mahrez, Aubameyang highlight African Player of the Year nominations

Leicester City wizard Riyad Mahrez and Borussia Dortmund goal-poacher Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang lead the BBC's nominations for African Player of the Year, a reward after virtuoso seasons for their respective clubs.

West Ham's Andre Ayew, Liverpool's Sadio Mane, and Manchester City's Yaya Toure round out Saturday's five-man shortlist.

Mahrez famously guided the Foxes to an unlikely Premier League title last season, scoring 17 goals and contributing another 11 assists. He also became the first African to take home the PFA's Player of the Year honour, and only the second non-European. Leicester's rise mirrored that of Mahrez, as he appeared virtually out of nowhere to lift the club to its first top-flight title.

His direct challenger for the award is Aubameyang, who's enjoyed the best year of his career at Dortmund. With 25 goals over the 2015-16 campaign, the 27-year-old led BVB back to the Champions League.

City's Toure is the most surprising choice. He was dropped from Pep Guardiola's squad at the outset of the campaign, and his performances toward the end of the Manuel Pellegrini era were equally uninspiring and ineffectual. His lack of desire and application in midfield led many to believe he'd leave City this summer; now he's stuck in the middle of a dispute between Guardiola and agent Dimitri Seluk.

Mane and Ayew's improved form earned them summer moves to Liverpool and West Ham, respectively, though only the former has enjoyed a successful transition. Mane's become intrinsic to Jurgen Klopp's high-pressing system, scoring six times and adding another two assists in his first 10 matches as a Red.

Ayew suffered an injury in his first match as a Hammer, but before that, he led Swansea City in scoring with 12 Premier League strikes.