With the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia also expected to take place in January, Takehiro Tomiyasu (Japan) has called for “the Asian Cup to be played in June, just like the European Championship”. The defender has been quietly impressing this season and will miss at least five games if favorites Japan reach the Asian Cup final. Mohamed Elneny (Egypt) leaves for Afcon but the injured Thomas Partey is not selected by Ghana.
Of Bertrand Traore (Burkino Faso) Villa’s only player, who last played in the league in October, should not suffer too much of a loss. The club is doing well on the right wing, with Leon Bailey and Moussa Diaby impressing this season.
Dango Ouattara (Burkino Faso) limped in Sunday’s defeat at Tottenham with a swollen ankle, but will travel to Ivory Coast. Born in London Antoine Semenyo (Ghana) made his international debut in Afcon qualifying but has already become hugely influential for his country. Hamed Traore has been withdrawn from the Ivory Coast squad after Bournemouth revealed the midfielder was recovering from malaria.
With Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbeumo sidelined, the striker’s departure Yoane Wissa (DR Congo) is a huge blow, while Saman Ghoddos (Iran) has started Brentford’s last seven matches. Frank Onyeka (Nigeria) is another loss in midfield, but the teenager Kim Ji-soo (South Korea) is yet to feature in the first team since his summer transfer.
Kaoru Mitoma (Japan), one of three players on this list to feature in The Guardian’s top 100 male footballers in the world, will play a key role for his country at the Asian Cup. Tariq Lamptey’s injury means he has been left out of the Ghana squad and while there have been concerns the same fate could happen Simon Adingra (Ivory Coast) following a hamstring injury, the winger has said: “the rumors about Brighton keeping me away from the Afcon are completely wrong”.
Burnley
One of the three games not to lose a player. Lyle Foster was included in South Africa’s provisional squad but was ultimately left out due to mental health reasons, a decision Burnley’s manager, Vincent Kompany, called ‘wise’ despite starting the striker in the past three games. Anass Zaroury has been left out of Morocco’s selection.
Chelsea
Nicolas Jackson (Senegal) is the only departure as he makes his Afcon debut, hoping to help his country defend the title they won in Cameroon. The striker has divided opinion since his move from Villarreal and will miss at least four games.
Crystal Palace
Jordan Ayew (Ghana) has left for his sixth Afcon and will join his brother André at the tournament. Far from being productive for club and country, the forward is highly regarded for his intelligence and unselfish running style. Cheick Doucouré would have been a regular in the Mali squad had he not suffered a season-ending Achilles injury.
Everton
Idrissa Gueye (Senegal) is one of six Premier League players in the favorites’ squad. Abdoulaye Doucouré made his Mali debut in 2022 but turned down his country’s call to help Everton in the relegation battle. “I don’t want to go,” he said.
Fulham
Born in Italy, raised in East London, Calvin Bassey (Nigeria) makes his Afcon debut for the Super Eagles, while being his teammate Alex Iwobi (Nigeria) is playing in his third tournament as he looks to emulate his uncle Jay-Jay Okocha’s Afcon triumph in 1994. Fodé Ballo-Toure (Senegal) is a third player to leave.
Liverpool
The loss of Mohamed Salah (Egypt) is a huge blow, now that the attacker is at the top of the Premier League scoring list with fourteen points. Fans of Manchester City, Aston Villa and Arsenal will be hoping the 31-year-old will reach the Afcon finals again. Wataru Endo (Japan) has emerged as a key cog for Liverpool as they head to the Asian Cup.
Luton
Issa Kabore (Burkino Faso) leaves after making a real impact on loan from Manchester City. The manager, Rob Edwards, will be happy that there was no room for Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu in the DR Congo squad.
Manchester city
An ominous sign for City’s title rivals: they have no international absentees.
Manchester United
André Onana (Cameroon) will join his compatriots just 24 hours before their Afcon opener against Guinea after being cleared to play in United’s league match against Tottenham on January 14, meaning he will also be available for the FA Cup tie against Wigan on Monday. Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco) has left for Africa, but Amad Diallo is not in the Ivory Coast selection. The 21-year-old made his first appearance of the season in the defeat to Nottingham Forest.
Newcastle
They do not have a player at either tournament but have been linked with a January move for Salernitana striker Boulaye Dia, who is in the Senegal squad.
Nottingham forest
No Premier League team will lose more players if six leave for Afcon. Serge Aurier (Ivory Coast), Willy Boly (Ivory Coast) And Ibrahim Sangaré (Ivory Coast) represent the tournament hosts, while Cheikhou Kouyate (Senegal), Moussa Niakhate (Senegal) And Ola Aina (Nigeria) are big losses for the new manager, Nuno Espírito Santo.
Sheffield United
The Blades get away with it relatively lightly Anis Ben Slimane (Tunisia) the only regular first-team player to leave. Yasser Larouci (Algeria) was a surprise inclusion for Afcon, but the former Liverpool academy player has yet to feature since joining on loan from Troyes this summer.
Tottenham
The departure of three key players appears to leave Spurs badly short. The shape of Pape Sarr (Senegal) recently signed the midfielder a new six-and-a-half-year contract, and Yves Bissouma (Mali) it was also excellent this season. How Tottenham replace Son Heung-min (South Korea) will certainly dictate their fortunes during this period. The captain could easily be gone until mid-February.
West Ham
With Lucas Paquetá injured, it was a loss Mohammed Kudus (Ghana) comes at a particularly bad time for David Moyes, whose team struggled for creativity in Tuesday’s lifeless 0-0 draw with Brighton. The absence of Nayef Aguerd (Morocco) is another blow, although the defender has been linked with a January move to Roma, Milan and Saudi Arabia.
Wolves
Hwang Hee-chan (South Korea) has taken Wolves to 11th in the table with ten Premier League goals – more than Ollie Watkins and Alexander Isak. Boubacar Traore (Mali) has largely disappeared from the bench, but the departure of Rayan Aït-Nouri (Algeria) is a big blow – the left back moved from France last year. The under-21 player Justin Hubner (Indonesia) is selected.