Dede shortlisted for CAF player of the year award

Ghana midfielder, Dede Ayew has been named among the final three-man shortlist for the 2015 African Player of the Year award, GHANAsoccernet.com can reveal.

The Swansea City superstar will slug it out with Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Yaya Toure of Ivory Coast for Africa's top football award.

Caf initially named a list of 34 players in October who were being considered for the award before cutting that down to 10 names.

It was further whittled down to five before slashing it down to three players on Monday paving the way for Ayew to win the award.

Ayew has been selected for his heroics for both club and country after helping Ghana to the final of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in February.

Despite being a midfielder he finished as the tournament's joint top scorer as the Black Stars were only beaten on penalties by Ivory Coast.

He scored 12 goals in 14 matches for Marseille as a midfielder from February until May when he quit the club for Swansea.

He is currently the Welsh side's leading scorer despite being a midfielder with six goals which makes him a huge favourite for the award.

The final winner will be decided by votes from the head coaches and technical directors of the football associations affiliated to Caf.

The winner of the award will be announced at the Glo-CAF Awards Gala on 7 January 2016.