September 15, (THEWILL) – Nigeria’s promising talent, Victor Boniface, has been awarded the prestigious Bundesliga Player of the Month and Rookie of the Month titles for August 2023.
The Bayer Leverkusen striker saw off competition from renowned players including Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane and Jonas Wind of Wolfsburg, for the player of the month honour. The Bundesliga confirmed this on Thursday, and explained that a meticulous two-stage process was used to select each monthly winner, considering both statistical performance metrics and input from fans and experts.
The August award focuses specifically on contributions made during the first two matchdays of the Bundesliga season. After joining Leverkusen from Belgium’s Union Saint Gilloise in the summer, Boniface made a remarkable start to the season’s schedule. He provided a crucial assist on his Bundesliga debut in Leverkusen’s 3-2 victory against RB Leipzig, before netting an impressive brace as Die Werkself thrashed Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-0 on matchday two.
Crucially, Boniface’s tally of 14 shots in August exceeded that of any other Bundesliga player. He unleashed an astonishing 11 shots on target against Jonas Omlin’s goal in the second match alone – outperforming Harry Kane’s combined total across the first two games. However, Boniface’s success is not just in attack. His 54 challenges made him the league’s top challenger, with an impressive 43% success rate.
The exceptional performances have earned Boniface not one but two monthly awards – a rare achievement he shares with Erling Haaland. Alongside Player of the Month, he was also named Rookie of the Month. Beyond the Bundesliga, Boniface also made a strong start internationally, assisting on his debut for Nigeria towards a 6-0 victory over Sao Tome and Principe in AFCON qualifying.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
