Mohammed Kudus was Africa's outstanding performer across Europe's major leagues this weekend, maintaining his excellent recent form -- and scoring his first Premier League brace -- as West Ham United downed Wolves 3-0.
In Italy, newly crowned African Footballer of the Year Victor Osimhen scored his first Serie A goal since early October, while Elijah Adebayo made Luton Town history, albeit in a game abandoned due to Tom Lockyer's health emergency.
West Ham's signing of Ghana's Kudus from Ajax in August may yet prove to be the most astute African transfer of 2023.
The Hammers parted with £38 million for the attacker, who was arguably the Black Stars' outstanding performer at the World Cup last year, to make him Ghana's most expensive player ever.
It's consistently looked like money well spent, with Kudus' double against Wolves this weekend taking him up to five goals in 14 league outings, as well as a further three in five in the Europa League.
Since the start of November, Kudus has taken his game to another level, having begun to translate his early-season form in the continent to the top light. There were goals in the victory over Arsenal, the draw with Crystal Palace and the defeat by Brentford, while Kudus' 91st-minute assist for Tomas Soucek in November trip to Burnley secured all three points for David Moyes' side.
It wouldn't be a stretch, however, to say that his outing against Wolves was the 23-year-old's best performance yet in the Claret and Blue.
Kudus' magic against the Old Gold came within 10 first half minutes; with 22 minutes on the clock, there was little to separate the pair, just after the half-hour mark, and the contest had been taken beyond the visitors, with the Ghanaian netting twice to put clear daylight between the pair.
His first left visiting keeper Dan Bentley with no chance, striking sharply beyond the stand-in stopper with his left foot from outside the box, having been found by Lucas Paqueta after a Wolves move broke down.
The finish was reminiscent of some of his finest moments with Ajax, as Kudus increasingly made a habit of leaving keepers floored with powerful, low efforts from outside the box.
"Normally, when you come with your left foot, the keeper is looking at the other corner," Kudus told West Ham's official site, "so I went for the near corner.
"It went in, it was a good goal, and I'm happy."
Kudus' interplay and understanding with Paqueta is becoming a hallmark of this exciting West Ham side, and again the duo combined minutes later to take the contest beyond Wolves.
It was a similar story, as Mario Lemina lost possession, the quick-thinking Paqueta sent through Kudus with a delightful diagonal, and the Ghanaian had little else on his mind but burying the ball beyond Bentley.
Again finding himself in the right channel, he opted not to cut inside on his left, but this time outpaced the covering centreback before finishing with his right beyond Bentley.
Admittedly, Wolves were architects of their own downfall, but the Irons still needed their forward player to provide the cutting edge to ensure all three points were secured. Kudus, in his current form, was never going to let them down.
While Moyes is clearly relishing his latest star recruit in action -- particularly after beating the likes of Chelsea and Brighton to his signature -- the Scot is clearly concerned about the impact the impending Africa Cup of Nations will have on his blossoming attacking unit.
"It's a huge blow for us, he's a great boy to work with," Moyes told journalists after the match. "He scores goals, he makes goals, and he's doing all the work for us as well. We're going to have to find other ways.
"We'll hugely miss him."
Beyond just losing Kudus' goals, the Hammers will also miss his blooming relationship with Paqueta -- the duo looked simply scintillating against Wolves, and it's increasingly apparently why the Brazilian's ongoing presence at the London Stadium convinced the Ghanaian to join him in the east of the capital.
"You know the vision Lucas has with those kinds of passes," Kudus said. "As soon as we win the ball, and it's him, I just get running.
"I know the ball will come, I was just one-vs-one against the keeper and I did my thing."
The timing between the pair is increasingly immaculate, with Paqueta receiving possession a trigger for Kudus to get his head down and begin to test the opposition centreback's legs. He excels down the right flank, often alternating position with Jarrod Bowen, and for a manager in Moyes who has often struggled to incorporate strikers in to his starting XI, Kudus' goal threat from midfield is increasingly making him undroppable.
His next opportunity will come against Liverpool in the Hammers' midweek League Cup quarterfinal, before the visit of Manchester United on Saturday.
"We expect a lot from ourselves and we believe we can do more than this," he concluded. "There are so many games to go, so we'll keep taking one game at a time and we'll get there."