5 Premier League clubs that could suffer due to the Africa Cup of Nations
Premier League clubs and others around Europe are resigned to losing some players for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations. The tournament is set to be held between January 9th and February 6th 2022, in Cameroon.
The tournament will come at a critical point in the 2021-22 season, with the players set to miss a significant number of matches for their clubs in the Premier League. Players will have to join up with their national sides after their Boxing Day fixtures to resume camp just a week before the tournament.
Premier League stars could miss as many as five games due to the AFCON
Depending on where their teams finish, some players may end up missing up to five Premier League matches, as well as matches in the FA Cup. The clubs may have to find solutions to enable them to remain competitive over this period or risk falling apart.
On that note, here is a list of five Premier League clubs that will likely be the most affected by their players leaving for the AFCON:
#5 Chelsea
Premier League leaders Chelsea will surely be without a key member of their side, Edouard Mendy, with the start of the tournament. The 29-year-old goalkeeper is the first-choice option between the sticks for Africa's highest-ranked team, the Teranga Lions of Senegal.
The shot-stopper has the best save percentage across Europe this season and earned the UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year award for his Champions League heroics in the 2020-21 season.
Chelsea will be playing Liverpool, Man City, Spurs, Brighton, Arsenal consecutively between Jan 2nd and Feb 10th, 2022. We’ll be without Mendy & Ziyech cos of the AFCON tournament.
The club's undisputed first choice, Mendy, has played in 59 of 82 matches since joining Chelsea. He will miss the Premier League matches against Brighton & Hove Albion twice, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Tottenham Hotspur. In Kepa Arrizabalaga, Chelsea have an able deputy that can cover for them in Mendy's absence.
The Blues have been in this position in the past, as a certain Didier Drogba left for the 2010 edition. The Ivorian returned to win the golden boot in the Premier League and lead them to the league title.
Vahid Halilhodžić announced 🇲🇦 Morocco's squad for the matches against 🇸🇩 Sudan and 🇬🇳 Guinea. Once again he didn't call Hakim Ziyech and it seems that as long as he will remain the coach, Ziyech won't return to the national team https://t.co/rQSQbl4KAW
Moroccan winger Hakim Ziyech is unlikely to make the tournament, having fallen out with national team manager Vahid Halihodzic in the months leading up to the tournament.
#4 Watford
Watford manager Claudio Ranieri will be one of those who will be displeased with the timing of the AFCON. The Italian tactician may lose up to five first-team players for the tournament, with all of them playing for some of the tournament's favorites.
Senegal winger Ismaila Sarr, Moroccan duo of Adam Masina and Imran Louza, and Nigerian duo of William Troost-Ekong and Emmanuel Dennis are the players who may be called up. Sarr and Dennis are two of the club's leading attacking talents, having scored seven goals between them already this season. At the back, Troost-Ekong and Masina are important members of their defensive set up.
Watford are finished in January. AFCON is going to finish them. twitter.com/FuadCadani/sta…
The Hornets will face West Ham twice, Tottenham, Newcastle and Norwich in five Premier League matches during the potential absence of these players. This run of fixtures may possibly determine their Premier League status come the end of the season.