Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Denis Onyango is delighted to see his name on the shortlist for the 2018 Caf African Player of the Year.

He made the 10-man shortlist for the Confederation of African Football (Caf) Footballer of the Year award. The Brazilians’ and Uganda’s No 1 has had a stellar season for both club and country.

The 33-year-old goalkeeper has been in impressive form for the Brazilians this season, while helping Uganda qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) for the second time in a row with a game left to play.

Onyango has been included in the top 10 contestants for the African Player of the Year award alongside the likes of Sadio Mane of Senegal, Nigeria’s Alex Iwobi, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Gabon and Egyptian star Mohamed Salah.

The Ugandan national team captain said that club coach Pitso Mosimane has motivated him to reach the highest level in football, while admitting he needs to keep working on his personal growth.

‘It’s fantastic being nominated for the third time in a row,’ Onyango told his club’s official website.

‘It shows that I have done a great job with the club and the national team. It keeps me motivated as a player. I hope some players also get motivated to be in such a pool of great players on the continent. If you do well, you get recognised like the way I have been recognised. Obviously I haven’t won it, but being among the best in the continent is massive for me.’

Onyango is currently nursing a knee injury, which has kept him on the sidelines for six to eight weeks.

‘It gives me confidence when coach Pitso gives me such motivation and he praises me,’ he added.

‘But at the same time I must work hard and show that I am the best, as he says. It keeps me on my toes because the people I work with – Reyaad (Pieterse), Thela (Ngobeni) and Kennedy (Mweene) push me to the limit. I must give my best all the time to be in goal. This makes me to be a better goalkeeper and better person.’

The Sundowns keeper will be hoping his side can maintain their winning streak in the league with the club yet to taste defeat this season.

‘ It’s a great feeling that we haven’t lost a game, but we can’t say that we are happy with the position we are in.’

‘The other teams are still playing league games and they can go above us. If you have games in hand, it sometimes becomes a problem because the games pile up. Off course we haven’t lost, but we also haven’t won that much. It’s a concern for us. We are trying our best to get the results. The moment we get on top of the table, we will be able to see how far we can go,’ he concluded.