Out - of - favour Super Eagles striker Obafemi Martins is competing directly with Republic of Ireland international Robbie Keane for the Most Valuable Player in the MLS.<br /><br />The Seattle Sounders marksman had been leading the rankings until last week when he was overtaken by Robbie Keane.<br /><br />With the LA Galaxy forward away on international duty, Obafemi Martins had the opportunity to close the gap but his display in the 1 - 0 loss to Vancouver Whitecaps did not tick the right boxes.<br /><br />In first place in the ranking is Keane with 49 points followed by the Nigerian, who has accumulated 38 points while Lee Nguyen(<span class=\"st\">New England Revolution )</span>, Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy) and Diego Valeri (Portland Timbers) complete the first five positions in that order.<br /><br />The soon - to - be 30 - year - old Obafemi Martins has chalked up 17 goals ( with 10 assists) this term.<br />