Teams that will lose key players as AFCON & Asian Cup tournaments come calling
3rd January 2024
Liverpool will miss the services of influential winger Mohamed Salah as City remain untouched.
- Manchester City are among the three clubs that will not be impacted by the two upcoming tournaments.
- The other sides that will not lose any of their players to the two continental tournaments include Burnley and Newcastle United.
- Tottenham Hotspur will also be without three star players for the bigger part of January.
Defending champions Manchester City are among the three
clubs that will not be impacted by the delayed Asian Cup and African Cup of
Nations (AFCON) tournaments set to take place over the coming weeks.
AFCON is scheduled to be held between Saturday, January 13
and Sunday, February 11 in Ivory Coast while the Asian Cup will run from Friday,
January 12 to Saturday, February 10 in Qatar.
The other sides that will not lose any of their players to
the two continental tournaments include Burnley and Newcastle United.
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The Cityzens will be hoping to take advantage of the
opportunity to return to the top of the league, a position which is currently
being held by Liverpool who hold a three-point buffer.
On the other hand, Jurgen Klopp’s men will miss the services
of one of their most valuable players in Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah to
AFCON while Japan’s Wataru Endo is also expected to represent his nation in the
Asian Cup.
Salah has been a key player for Liverpool in the league this
season, scoring 14 goals and providing 8 assists.
He currently leads the golden boot race alongside Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, who is expected to benefit with the return of Kevin de Bruyne.
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Tottenham Hotspur will also be without three star players
for the bigger part of January. The absentees include skipper Heung-Min Son
(South Korea), Yves Bissouma (Mali) and Pape Sarr (Senegal).
The other title favorites Arsenal and Aston Villa will lose
two and one player respectively to the two events.
The Gunners, who have been registering under par
performances lately, will be without Takehiro Tomiyasu (Japan) and Mohamed
Elneny (Egypt).
Ghanaian midfielder Thomas Partey was omitted from Ghana’s
squad to give him enough time to completely recover from an injury which has
disrupted his season.
As for the Unai Emery coached Aston Villa side, Burkinabè forward
Bertrand Traore is the only player who they are guaranteed to miss.
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Brentford, Nottingham Forest and Wolves are the Premier
League clubs that will lose most of their players to AFCON and Asian Cup.
Nottingham Forest are expected to be without the most
players (six) while Brentford and Wolves will each miss the services of four
players.
Fallen giants Manchester United and Chelsea will have to
cope without three players and one player respectively.
The Red Devils trio of Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast), Andre
Onana (Cameroon) and Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco) are expected to team up with
their national sides as it is with Chelsea’s attacker Nicolas Jackson.
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Players Premier League title contenders are expected to lose
to AFCON and Asian Cup.
Liverpool
Mohamed Salah (Egypt)
Wataru Endo (Japan)
Arsenal
Mohamed Elneny (Egypt)
Takehiro Tomiyasu (Japan)
Aston Villa
Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso)
Manchester City
None
Tottenham
Yves Bissouma (Mali)
Pape Sarr (Senegal)
Heung-Min Son (South Korea)