At a gala ceremony on Monday night, in-demand Eupen frontman Henry Onyekuru took eighth in the voting for the Footballer of the Year in Belgium.

Youri Tielemans (Anderlecht) was named Player of the Year with 873 points, while the Nigerian claimed 82 points.

Three Nigerian whiz-kids made the top ten in another award category, the Young Player of the Year. Onyekuru finished third (450 points), ahead of Gent pair Samuel Kalu (109) and Moses Simon (88).

Earlier this month, the Eupen sensation achieved fourth place in the ‘Soulier d’Ebène’, the vote for the best African player in the Belgian professional leagues.

The three young Nigerians played key roles for their respective clubs in the just concluded season.

Onyekuru was challenging for the top scorer award, Kalu quickly settled into his new team after transferring from AS Trencin and Simon was a goalscoring threat.

Young Player Of The Year (Belgium)

1. Landry Dimata (KV Oostende) 815 points

2. Youri Tielemans (Anderlecht 669

3. Henry Onyekuru (Eupen) 450

4. Siebe Writers (RC Genk) 196

5. Sander Berge (RC Genk) 124

6. Samuel Kalu (AA Gent) 109

7. Moses Simon (AA Gent) 88

8. Aristote Nkaka (Mouscron) 66

9. Wesley Moraes (Club Brugge) 64

10. Razvan Marin (Standard) 54

Ifeanyi Emmanuel