At 18, the Aston Villa and Senegal forward is among the ten nominees for African Young Player of the Year at the 2026 CAF Awards, after a year marked by records with the national team and a €55m transfer.
Ibrahim Mbaye’s name is on the list of nominees for African Young Player of the Year. The news, published by wiwsport and picked up by footmercato, does not yet specify the date of the 2026 CAF Awards ceremony.
It is already a hefty CV for a player who only made his Lions debut in November 2025. In less than a year, he has written his name into his national team’s history twice and left PSG for Aston Villa for €55 million, according to FootballTransfers via Apex Football.
Two records with the national team
The first record dates back to 3 January 2026. Against Sudan in the AFCON round of 16, he scored Senegal’s third goal (3-1) at the age of 17 years and 344 days. According to wiwsport, he thus became the youngest scorer in Senegal’s history in the competition and the youngest scorer at an AFCON in the 21st century.
The second came at the World Cup. On 16 June 2026, against France, he pulled a goal back at 18 years and 143 days to become the youngest African scorer in World Cup history, ahead of Moussa Wagué. Also according to wiwsport, he has 18 caps since his debut in November 2025.
A €55 million transfer
In the summer of 2026, Mbaye left PSG for Aston Villa for €55 million (£45.8m), FootballTransfers via Apex Football reports. The background to the deal includes one further twist: Liverpool had reached a personal agreement with the player before pulling out, the Reds ultimately signing Bradley Barcola for €125m.
With Aston Villa, he provided assists against Fenerbahçe, Viking and Manchester City in October, the same source states. On Tuesday 3 November, he came on in the 62nd minute in his side’s 3-0 defeat at Camp Nou against Barcelona, according to wiwsport.
Stiff competition
The nominees list, compiled by footmercato, includes Yan Diomandé (Real Madrid), Ayyoub Bouaddi (Manchester City), Ibrahim Maza and Christian Kofane (Bayer Leverkusen), Abdellah Ouazane (Ajax) and Hamza Abdelkarim (FC Barcelona). The winner will be announced at the 2026 CAF Awards ceremony, whose date is still to be confirmed.
In the meantime, Aston Villa need a response in the Champions League after their 3-0 defeat at Camp Nou.