As the new campaign gets underway, Afrocritik picks the African footballers who could make the biggest strides this season.
By Tuka Letura
The 2026/27 season is underway, and there are plenty of African players worth watching across the top-flight leagues in Europe and beyond.
Here is our list of the African footballers who could make a significant impact this season, based on their performances, potential and the opportunities now available to them. The men’s selections come first, followed by five players from the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Ibrahim Maza (Bayer Leverkusen)
Maza made 28 Bundesliga appearances last season for Leverkusen, 20 as a starter, and played 1,852 minutes. He finished with three goals and four assists. He also spent the winter break with Algeria at the Africa Cup of Nations before starting all four of their World Cup matches this summer.
Maza operates between midfield and attack and is comfortable carrying the ball through pressure. He committed to Algeria in 2024 and now has 20 caps.
The next step is a better return in front of goal, and he started by scoring against Newcastle in their final pre-season game. Leverkusen will expect more from a player who has already established himself in the Bundesliga as they head into the season.
Christ Inao Oulaï (Fiorentina)
Oulaï spent last season at Trabzonspor before becoming part of Ivory Coast’s midfield at the World Cup. Fiorentina have since agreed a package worth about €32m for the 20-year-old, with the deal completed in July. At 1.73m, Oulaï is small for a central midfielder. His game is based on close control and quick movement in crowded areas. He tends to escape pressure with his first touch rather than trying to beat opponents physically.
Oulaï has never completed a full season as an established senior player. Given that Fiorentina had to push in the final round of matches to escape relegation from the top flight last season, signing him for what is their second-highest fee for a player means they will provide the most demanding environment of his career so far. This also offers him the opportunity to step up.
Ibrahim Mbaye (Paris Saint-Germain)
Mbaye made 24 Ligue 1 appearances for Paris Saint-Germain last season and scored three goals. Most of his league football came from the bench, and he only managed to complete three 90-minute appearances.
One of his goals came in stoppage time at Lens as PSG secured the French title. He then became the youngest African to score at a World Cup, at 18 years and 143 days, when he came off the bench against France for Senegal. The PSG academy graduate is a direct right winger who is willing to attack defenders and receive the ball with pressure behind him.
His problem is the competition for places. PSG have several senior attacking options, and Mbaye has reportedly agreed terms with Liverpool for a transfer. If there’s a perfect example of a player looking to explode, Ibrahim is exactly that.
Benjamin Fredrick (Brentford)
Fredrick joined Brentford’s first-team squad in July after three years in the club’s development system. The 21-year-old centre-back came through Moses Simon’s Simoiben Academy in Kaduna, Nigeria, played six NPFL matches for Nasarawa United and joined Brentford’s B team in 2023.
He spent last season on loan at Dender in Belgium, starting 10 of his 14 league appearances before a knee injury ended his campaign in November. Before that, Nigeria had already made him part of the senior set-up. He started the final four World Cup qualifiers and the play-off semi-final against Gabon.
Brentford have given him a four-year contract with an option for a fifth. He is still returning to full fitness, but Keith Andrews has indicated that Fredrick is part of the first-team group. The question is how quickly he can translate his international experience and performances to Premier League football when the assured opportunity arrives on his return.
Caleb Yirenkyi (Coventry City)
Coventry made Yirenkyi their latest transfer-record signing when they brought him from Nordsjælland on 7 August. The initial fee was reported at €27m, potentially rising to €30m. The 20-year-old Ghanaian midfielder was named Danish Superliga Young Player of the Year last season and included in the league’s Team of the Year as Nordsjælland finished third.
Across two seasons in Denmark, Yirenkyi made 56 senior appearances, scoring four goals and providing eight assists. His main strengths are carrying the ball, covering ground and competing for possession.
He already has 15 Ghana caps and scored against Panama at the World Cup. Coventry have paid a substantial fee for a player who is still developing but is one of the most exciting midfield talents in football. The Premier League will provide the first indication of how quickly he can adapt.
Hamza Abdelkarim (FC Barcelona)
Barcelona initially took Abdelkarim on loan from Al Ahly before paying his €1.5m release clause in June. The Egyptian is 18 and a natural centre-forward. His senior experience remains limited, but he has already played at two major youth tournaments.
Egypt coach, Hossam Hassan, selected him for the senior World Cup squad before he had won a cap. He made his debut against Russia in a friendly eight days after his selection and appeared four times in the tournament.
Abdelkarim also scored regularly for Barcelona’s Under-19s after his registration was completed. FC Barcelona Manager, Hansi Flick, has used him in pre-season, and he has rewarded the German with three goals in two games. Given the absence of an outright striker in the squad, particularly following the departures of Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, the likelihood of the young man featuring is really high.
Mbekezeli Mbokazi (Chicago Fire)
Mbokazi played every minute of South Africa’s four World Cup matches as Bafana Bafana reached the knockout stage for the first time. He made 31 clearances and four tackles during the tournament and was one of the reasons South Africa remained competitive after being reduced to nine men against Mexico.
The 20-year-old made his Orlando Pirates debut only in March 2025. Chicago Fire had already signed him for a reported $3m in December. He started all 12 MLS regular-season matches he played before the international break, accumulating more than 1,040 minutes, and was selected for the MLS All-Star squad.
Mbokazi is a right-sided centre-back who defends aggressively and looks forward with the ball. Chicago have already attracted interest from Europe, even more so after his outstanding World Cup performances.
Mamadou Sangaré (Brentford)
Sangaré was named the Marc-Vivien Foé Award winner as Ligue 1’s best African player last season and was selected in the UNFP Team of the Year. The Mali midfielder made 29 league appearances for Lens, starting 27, and played 2,328 minutes as the club finished second and won the Coupe de France. Brentford paid a club-record fee for him in July.
His league numbers give a better idea of his role than his three goals. He completed 343 passes into the final third and ranked among Ligue 1’s leading midfielders for successful dribbles and fouls won. At 24, Sangaré is further along than most of the players here. Brentford are signing him to play rather than wait for him to develop.
Bazoumana Touré (Newcastle United)
Newcastle signed Touré from Hoffenheim for a reported £42m early in the summer transfer window, on the back of losing Anthony Gordon. The Ivory Coast winger scored five Bundesliga goals and provided nine assists in 2,325 minutes last season, helping Hoffenheim finish fifth. Touré usually starts on the left, attacks at speed and moves inside rather than taking every possession to the byline.
He also scored twice for Ivory Coast at the Africa Cup of Nations and made his World Cup debut this summer.
Newcastle bought him to fill a significant attacking role. His direct style in a league where he will have less room to run into may be his hindrance, but if Newcastle return to using their strikers, he is a winger who can create chances frequently and get some goals himself.
Relebohile Mofokeng (Union Saint-Gilloise)
Mofokeng scored 11 goals and provided nine assists in 36 appearances last season as Orlando Pirates won the Betway Premiership, MTN8 and Carling Knockout. Union Saint-Gilloise agreed his transfer before the World Cup, and the 21-year-old completed the move after the tournament.
Mofokeng was named South African Premiership Young Player of the Season in 2024 and has since become a regular for Bafana Bafana. He started at the World Cup and played against South Korea before South Africa were eliminated by Canada.
His preferred position is as a number 10, although he can play from either flank. He has already made four appearances for USG, won the Belgian Super Cup, where he scored the winning penalty, and scored a goal against Westerlo in the league. Belgium is his first sustained experience of European club football and could light a path for more South African players of this generation into Europe.
Moses Usor (LASK)
Moses Usor was LASK’s leading scorer as the club won the Austrian Bundesliga and Austrian Cup last season. He scored 13 league goals in 30 appearances and finished with 15 in all competitions, including the equaliser in the cup final against Altach. The 24-year-old Nigerian usually starts from the left before cutting inside onto his stronger foot. He came through 36 Lions in Lagos before moving to Slavia Prague and then LASK. Despite his club form, he remains uncapped by Nigeria.
His challenge this season is translating that production from last season into a sustainable standard. With the Super Eagles short of established wide options, Usor has an opening. He has been a starter at club level, but another productive campaign could make this the season when he turns his club form into the attention needed to earn his first Nigeria call-up.
The Super Eagles are beginning a new cycle after missing the 2026 World Cup, giving players outside the established group a chance to force their way in. European football and another strong season could put Usor firmly in that conversation.
Four women to watch
N’Sira Safi Ouédraogo (FC Nordsjælland)
Safi earned her Ivory Coast call-up after scoring four goals against Morocco at Under-20 level. She then recorded five goal involvements in the WAFCON group stage, including creating both goals in the win over South Africa. Her tournament ended in the quarter-final against Algeria, where she was sent off following a challenge involving the goalkeeper.
At 18, the left-footed Safi keeps the ball close when carrying it at speed and is comfortable moving between midfield and defence. She came through Right to Dream and has since moved to Denmark on a multi-year deal with Nordsjælland. She also represented Right to Dream in the Gothia Cup in Sweden, playing alongside boys in the youth tournament.
Her first full season in the Kvindeliga will provide a clearer indication of her level, and she has kick-started things with a goal and an assist in the club’s first league game and win of the season.
Kautar Azraf (FC Barcelona)
Azraf joined Barcelona’s academy at 11 and represented Spain at Under-15 level before choosing Morocco. She captained Morocco at the Under-17 World Cup and became the youngest member of Jorge Vilda’s senior squad at this summer’s WAFCON. Azraf scored the opener in the third-place game against Algeria.
She also played for Barcelona’s reserves in the Spanish second tier in 2025–26. The 18-year-old now has to compete for senior opportunities at a club where several established players remain ahead of her, and her performances in recent times might just get her into the team this season.
Marie Divine Ngah Manga (Fenerbahçe)
Ngah Manga scored all three of Cameroon’s goals in their opening two WAFCON matches before scoring in the semi-final shootout against Morocco, and then twice in regular time in the final. Cameroon then beat Malawi 3–0 to win their first Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title.
The 23-year-old striker is comfortable receiving with her back to goal and can create shooting opportunities when defenders close her down. She has a very good record in the Turkish league, with 41 goals in 42 appearances, and will certainly look to continue that record after switching sides from Galatasaray.
Cameroon have also qualified for the 2027 Women’s World Cup. The coming season will give Ngah Manga the chance to establish herself before Brazil.
Michaely Bihina (Benfica)
Bihina was one of the most outstanding players of Cameroon’s WAFCON triumph, winning the Golden Glove after helping the Indomitable Lionesses claim their first title. The 22-year-old made nine saves in the 1–0 quarter-final victory over Nigeria and saved three penalties in the semi-final shootout against Morocco, after saving one in regulation time. She then kept a clean sheet in the 3–0 final win over Malawi.
Her club career has also moved forward. After starting with Éclair de Sa’a, Bihina joined Racing Power in Portugal and was named Liga BPI’s best goalkeeper for 2023–24 after recording 17 clean sheets in 33 appearances. Benfica signed her in February 2026 on a contract until 2029. With Cameroon qualified for the 2027 World Cup, Bihina now has a year to establish herself at one of Portugal’s leading clubs and as one of Africa’s best.
The aforementioned players here have different challenges ahead. Some need to settle into new leagues, others need regular first-team football, while a few must show that last season’s form was the start of something bigger.
The coming months should provide a clearer picture of how far they can go. By the end of the season, some of these players may have moved from names to watch to names everyone knows.
Tuka Letura is a sports writer who uses data and statistics to provide analysis and commentary. He has spent seven years covering competition from the regional level to the World.