Hard-working midfielder Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu has been voted Ghana's best player in Italy this year following his successes for both club and country.

The Udinese enforcer was handed the award at an event in the Italian city of Brescia on Saturday.

The award ceremony organised by the body representing all Ghanaians living in Italy voted to give Agyemang-Badu the award after excelling this year.

He edged past his Udinese team-mate Kwadwo Asamoah for the top award which was received on his behalf by relative.

The midfielder could not attend the event because of his club commitments.

Also in the hunt for the top award were Palermo's Afriyie Acquah and AC Milan's young Ghanaian striker Kingsley Boateng.

Badu was praised for stepping up to the plate to adequately replace Michael Essien following the Chelsea star's injury to help the Black Stars qualify for the Nations Cup with a near-perfect record.

Apart from scoring goals for the senior team, the Udinese player was also key as the Black Meteors beat Nigeria to qualify for the All African Games and went on to win the gold medal.

He helped Udinese to qualify for the Uefa Champions League.

Badu has become a key player for Ghana in recent times.