Nicolas Jackson has claimed the EA SPORTS Player of the Month award for October, becoming the first Aston Villa player to receive the honour since Christian Benteke in April 2015.

The Senegal international is also only the fourth Senegalese player ever to win the prize, following in the footsteps of Sadio Mané, who last claimed it in November 2019.

A dominant October

Jackson's triumph was built on four goals across four Premier League appearances in October. He opened the month by scoring Villa's equaliser in a 2-2 draw at home to Brentford, then delivered a commanding display in a 1-0 away victory at Newcastle United.

The 25-year-old former Chelsea striker then produced his finest moment of the month — a brace in a 2-1 win over Manchester City that made Aston Villa the first side to take points from Enzo Maresca's team this season.

He rounded off October with the opening goal in a 1-1 draw against Fulham, a run of form that has propelled him into the race for the Coca-Cola Golden Boot. Only Erling Haaland and Alexander Isak have scored more Premier League goals than Jackson so far this season.

Shortlist and voting

Jackson headed an eight-man shortlist featuring Evanilson (AFC Bournemouth), Ezri Konsa and Declan Rice (Arsenal), Jack Rudoni (Coventry City), Jan Paul van Hecke (Tottenham Hotspur), and Bart Verbruggen and Luka Vuskovic (Brighton & Hove Albion).

The winner was decided by combining public votes cast on the EA SPORTS website with the verdicts of a panel of football experts.