Iwobi defies critics and gets nominated for Everton Player of the Season and Young Player of the Year

SUPER Eagles playmaker Alex Iwobi has been nominated for two prestigious end-of-season awards at his English Premier League clubside Everton in his first season at the club following his £28m transfer from Arsenal.

Iwobi, 24, has established himself as a regular starter for both Everton and the Super Eagles despite recent criticism from fans that he does not influence games enough. Despite this, Everton have nominated him for both the Player of the Season and Young Player of the Season awards.

Every Everton player who has made a first-team appearance is eligible to be voted for as Player of the Season, while for the Young Player of the Season accolade, the nominee must have played for the first team and must have been 23 or under at the start of the season. Joining Iwobi on the eight-man shortlist for Young Player of the Season are Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Tom Davies, Anthony Gordon, Mason Holgate, Jean-Philippe Gbamin, Moise Keane and Richarlison.

Iwobi has 26 games under his belt since joining Everton on the final day of the transfer window last summer and has found the net in his first two starts. On the international stage, Iwobi started as an England youth player but then made a switch to Nigeria, making his senior debut for the Super Eagles on 8 October 2015.

Former Eagles skipper Austin JJ Okocha, is his maternal uncle and is believed to have been influential in his decision to switch to Nigeria. Iwobi now has 40 caps for Nigeria and has scored seven goals for the Super Eagles.