Kenya international Ayub Timbe has been nominated for Vissel Kobe’s fans player of the month award for the month of May.
The Harambee Stars winger, who signed for the Japanese side after leaving Beijing Renhe, will have to battle it out with three others players for the award, among them former Arsenal and Barcelona defender Thomas Vermaelen.
The other two are midfielder Hotaru Yamaguchi and striker Douglas.
Kobe have confirmed it in a statement on their official website: “Fan supporters choose, from the player of the month, nominated players, select the best Vissel Kobe player from May 2021 and vote!
“We look forward to your participation, voting results will be announced on Vissel Kobe official SNS, voting deadline: Until 23:59 on June 1st [Tuesday].”
Timbe, who also played for EFL Championship side Reading but on loan, has taken to his social media pages to confirm the nomination by stating: “Happy to be in the nominees for player of the month, go at my Instagram to vote will have the link in my bio.”
The 28-year-old is yet to stake a claim in Kobe’s starting XI but he scored his first two goals for the team as they beat Tokushima Vortis 3-0 in a Japanese J-League Cup game staged on May 18.
In a recent interview, Timbe paid a glowing tribute to former Spain and Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta, insisting his presence in the dressing room at Kobe has inspired him since he joined the side and was looking forward to playing more matches with him.
“Being with Iniesta in the same changing room and in the same pitch, having conversations with him is a great experience for me,” Timbe said as quoted by saying.
“He is a world-class player on and off the pitch. He has not played for a long time [due to injury], but I am looking forward to playing matches with him. I’m sure we are going to have good times in the coming games.”
Kobe are currently preparing for their League cup clash against Urawa Reds on June 6.
