5 Serie A clubs that could suffer due to the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON)
The delayed 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is set to kick off on the 9th of January and continue until the 6th of February 2022 in its traditional period. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has reverted to the original date of the competition to after complaints about its scheduling. The tournament is set to be held in Cameroon.
AFCON will take place alongside the regular European football season
Clubs in Europe will be hard hit by their players having to leave in the middle of the season to represent their countries, but can do nothing about it. In Serie A, like other leagues, many of the sides will be affected as their players will be required to participate in the competition.
Without further ado, here is a list of five Serie A clubs that will be affected by losing their players to AFCON.
#5 Bologna
Bologna are doing well in Serie A this season and are in tenth place halfway through the season. The Italian club are well on track to perform better than they did last season in Serie A, having already amassed eight wins so far. They won only ten matches in Serie A last season where they finished in 12th place.
Bologna will be without Gambian forward Musa Barrow and Senegalese defender Ibrahima Mbaye after both players were called up for AFCON by their respective countries. Mbaye has featured only four times this season for Bologna, with his last appearance coming in November against Spezia.
Barrow, on the other hand, has been a key element for Sinisa Mihajlovic's men. The 23-year-old forward has made 20 appearances for Bologna this season, scoring five goals and creating four assists.
Musa Barrow (23) is a popular shout. The LW/CF has 7G/A in 11 for Bologna, and some of his best games this season came against Lazio (1G, 2A) Milan and Inter. I'd like to see a bit more creation. Probably about a £20m buy, but not for January: The Gambian will be at AFCON. https://t.co/kcFVjJjxSF
The duo will be missed by Bologna for the duration of AFCON as their side take on Cagliari, Napoli, Verona and Empoli in Serie A.
#4 Sassuolo
Sassuolo is another side that will have to do without two of its stars for the duration of AFCON after they were called up for the tournament. The Ivorian duo of Jeremie Boga and Hamed Traore were included in the squad for their national side.
Hamed Traore has appeared 17 times for Sassuolo in Serie A, scoring once and assisting twice. The 21-year-old attacking midfielder has been a regular for Alessio Dionisi's side this season.
Boga, 24, has appeared 12 times for Neroverdi in Serie A this season, contributing three assists for them. Shortly after the announcement of the Ivory Coast squad to participate in the AFCON tournament, Boga completed a permanent move to Serie A side Atalanta.
🇨🇮 Además de Franck Kessié (Milan), en la primera lista de Costa de Marfil para la CAN están Hamed Traorè y Boga (Sassuolo) y Akpa-Akpro (Lazio) https://t.co/iycNkIfGmc
Sassuolo have matches against Empoli, Verona, Cagliari, Torino and Sampdoria lined up for the duration of AFCON.