Saturday 23 December 2023 2:00 pm
There may be no repeat of last season’s winter World Cup this year, but dozens of Premier League players are still set to jet off to major international tournaments, the Africa Cup of Nations and the Asian Cup, in January.
It means that teams stand to be deprived of stars such Mohamed Salah, Son Heung-min, Kaoru Mitoma and Andre Onana for up to seven weeks – further stretching squads already feeling the strain from the busy festive fixture schedule.
Fifa rules stipulate that clubs must release players on 1 January for the Africa Cup of Nations, beginning in the Ivory Coast on 13 January, and the Asian Cup, which gets underway in Qatar a day earlier.
Both tournaments last a month, so any players who go all the way to the finals would be absent until late February.
In total, 50 internationals who have made a top-flight appearance this season could be summoned to the tournaments. But which Premier League clubs are set to be hardest hit?
Which Premier League clubs will lose the most players to Afcon and Asian Cup?
Nottingham Forest are set to be the hardest hit, with six of their first-team players in line to be called up – and potentially absent from their survival battle for several weeks. It would be seven, but for Nigeria striker Taiwo Awoniyi’s long-term injury.
All the same, Forest are still likely to lose defenders Moussa Niakhate, Serge Aurier, Willy Boly and Ola Aina, as well as midfielders Cheikhou Kouyate and Ibrahim Sangare to the Africa Cup of Nations. Aurier, Boly and Sangare play for the hosts, so will hope to have long stays.
Two clubs – Brighton and West Ham – are set to lose four players each. Brighton face losing Japan winger Mitoma to the Asian Cup in addition to Tariq Lamptey, Carlos Baleba and Simon Adingra to Afcon.
West Ham look likely to be without the in-form Mohammed Kudus, fellow forwards Said Benrahma and Maxwel Cornet, and defender Nayef Aguerd.
Eight more clubs, including Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Manchester United and Tottenham, stand to lose three players to the tournaments. Among them are Takehiro Tomiyasu, Jordan Ayew, Alex Iwobi, Sofiane Amrabat and Yves Bissouma.
At the other end of the scale, Manchester City and Newcastle are the only clubs who do not have any players eligible for either the Africa Cup of Nations or Asian Cup, so can plan for January and February with all of their current squad.
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