Midfielder of the month: The Nominees

January was a month of some exciting fixtures across Europe and certain midfielders had stand-out performances. Even with only a handful of fixtures, players from Bayern Munich, Werder Bremen and Dortmund were pretty impressive. Good performances were seen at London too with Chelsea making headlines on several occasions. Atletico Madrid are another team that boast of some superb displays.

A select few from the top five leagues in Europe have been nominated for the Midfielder of the month, and your votes will decide the eventual winner.

Frank Lampard (Chelsea)

The England international and Chelsea midfielder wasn’t sure where he would be at the end of the season. But with some dazzling displays, he made Chelsea re-think their decision of not renewing his contract. The midfield ace scored three goals in five games in the Premier League. Frank Lampard equalled Kerry Dixon’s all-time scoring record of 193 for Chelsea with a goal from the penalty spot against Southampton, and that strike put him joint-second behind Bobby Tambling.

Franck Ribéry (Bayern Munich)

Bayern Munich have been extraordinary this season in the Bundesliga. Franck Ribéry is one of the reasons for such a performance. The Frenchman had an amazing start to the season, bagging goals and providing assists. With the player being in the form of his life, he has been nominated even for Bundesliga’s January edition of Midfielder of the month.

Diego (Vfl Wolfsburg)

The Brazilian player was linked with a move away from Wolfburg due to his displays. The playmaker had a good month as he scored one and created another as Wolfsburg beat Stuttgart 2-0. Being one of the highest paid players in Germany proves what he is capable of. The player also received praise from his manager for his outstanding displays in the midfield in January.

Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund)

Few other players have commanded the same attention as Marco Reus this year. The talent that has been associated with his name is becoming widely recognized. He was voted as the Best Player of 2012 by the association of German sports journalists. He scored two goals in January including the goal in a 0-5 thrashing of Werder Bremen.

Koke (Atletico Madrid)

The youngest player in the list, the Atletico Madrid star has created several goalscoring chances. Koke, 21, is considered to be one of the hottest prospects in football with the player already having assisted several times. Koke made headlines when he scored a brilliant goal against Levante.