How Africa Cup of Nations and Asian Cup will impact Premier League clubs in January
How Africa Cup of Nations and Asian Cup will impact Premier League clubs in January
Numerous players from the Premier League are scheduled to travel to
the Asia Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations in January,
two of the biggest international competitions.
The winter World Cup from last season may not happen again.
Teams may be without players like Mohamed Salah, Son Heung-min,
Kaoru Mitoma, and Andre Onana for as long as seven weeks as a result,
further taxing already stretched squads due to the hectic calendar of Christmas fixtures.
According to FIFA regulations, clubs have to release
players on January 1st in preparation for the Asian Cup,
which begins in Qatar on January 1st,
and the Africa Cup of Nations, which starts in the Ivory Coast on January 13.
Fifty foreign players who have played in
the top division this season could be called up for the competitions.
Which Premier League teams, though, will suffer the most?
Which Premier League teams are most likely to lose players to the Asian Cup and Afcon?
With six of their first-team players expected to be called up and
possibly missing several weeks of their survival struggle,
Nottingham Forest is expected to be the team most affected.
If not for Nigerian attacker Taiwo Awoniyi’s chronic injury, it would have been seven.
Nevertheless, Forest’s midfielders Ibrahim Sangare and Cheikhou Kouyate,
as well as defenders Moussa Niakhate, Serge Aurier, Willy Boly, and Ola Aina,
all expected to miss the Africa Cup of Nations.
As the hosts’ players, Aurier, Boly, and Sangare will be hoping for extended stays.
There will be four player losses for each of the two teams, Brighton and West Ham.
Along with Tariq Lamptey, Carlos Baleba, and Simon Adingra departing for the Afcon,
Brighton will also lose Japan’s Mitoma, a winger, to the Asian Cup.
The in-form Mohammed Kudus, fellow strikers Said Benrahma and Maxwel Cornet,
and defender Nayef Aguerd are all expected to be absent for West Ham.
There are eight more clubs that might lose three players to the tournaments: Arsenal,
Crystal Palace, Fulham, Manchester United, and Tottenham. Takehiro Tomiyasu,
Jordan Ayew, Alex Iwobi, Sofiane Amrabat, and Yves Bissouma are a few of them.
On the other hand, only Manchester City and Newcastle may make plans for January and
February using their entire roster because neither team
has any players eligible for the Asian Cup or the Africa Cup of Nations.
Premier League players at the Asian Cup and Afcon
The number of players that each Premier League team should anticipate
having selected for the Asian Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations in January 2024
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