Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) is set to premiere on the 9th of January in Cameroon taking with it a staggering 40 players of African descent away from the Premier League.
This is something a lot of coaches are worried about with the lack of talented players from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Wilfried Zaha as they go through a very intense period of time in their careers.
The tournament was switched back to its usual mid-season slot after the 2019 Cup of Nations in Egypt was held for the first time during the European summer, because June and July are part of the rainy season in Cameroon.
After a year’s delay owing to the pandemic it will kick off with the hosts taking on Burkina Faso in Yaoundé.
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The 40 Premier League players in line to go to Africa Cup of Nations Afcon – (A club-by-club guide)
- Arsenal (4) Thomas Partey (Ghana), Mohamed Elneny (Egypt), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon), Nicolas Pépé (Ivory Coast)
- Aston Villa (3) Mahmoud Trézéguet (Egypt), Bertrand Traoré (Burkina Faso), Marvelous Nakamba (Zimbabwe)
- Brentford (3) Julian Jeanvier (Guinea), Frank Onyeka (Nigeria), Tariqe Fosu-Henry (Ghana)
- Brighton (1) Yves Bissouma (Mali)
- Burnley (1) Maxwel Cornet (Ivory Coast)
- Chelsea (2) Édouard Mendy (Senegal), Hakim Ziyech (Morocco)
- Crystal Palace (4) Cheikhou Kouyaté (Senegal), Jeffrey Schlupp (Ghana), Jordan Ayew (Ghana), Wilfried Zaha (Ivory Coast)
- Everton (2) Jean-Philippe Gbamin (Ivory Coast), Alex Iwobi (Nigeria)
- Leeds United (0)
- Leicester (4) Daniel Amartey (Ghana), Nampalys Mendy (Senegal), Wilfred Ndidi (Nigeria), Kelechi Iheanacho (Nigeria)
- Liverpool (3) Mohamed Salah (Egypt), Naby Keïta (Guinea), Sadio Mané (Senegal)
- Manchester City (1) Riyad Mahrez (Algeria)
- Manchester United (2) Eric Bailly (Ivory Coast), Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast)
- Newcastle (0)
- Norwich (0)
- Southampton (2) Moussa Djenepo (Mali), Mohammed Salisu (Ghana)
- Tottenham (0)
- Watford (5) Peter Etebo (Nigeria), William Troost-Ekong (Nigeria), Adam Masina (Morocco), Ismaïla Sarr (Senegal), Emmanuel Denis (Nigeria)
- West Ham (1) Saïd Benrahama (Algeria)
- Wolves (2) Willy Boly (Ivory Coast), Romain Saïss (Morocco)
Leeds, Norwich, Newscastle and Tottenham remain as the only Premier League clubs who will not be affected by the African Cup of Nations as the rest of the team that will be missing their key potential players.
Source: theguardian.