Five Premier League sides will not be affected by AFCON – which could mean a lot for the title race

A huge 'boost' for the league leaders

This year’s will be the 35th edition of the biennial tournament which is organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

The squads have been announced and each Premier League side knows how many players will be unavailable for their squads from 21 December until 18 January.

Sunderland has the most players participating in the competition whereas clubs like Chelsea, Arsenal and Newcastle United will be unaffected by AFCON call-ups.

The full list of Prem sides and their players

Sunderland - Six players

(Noah Sadiki, Arthur Masuaku, Reinildo Mandava, Bertrand Traore, Chemsdine Talbi and Habib Diarra)

Sunderland spent big in the summer following their promotion and seven of their summer signings are African.

Six players were called up for the tournament that starts on Sunday, and these departures might hit the squad in the Prem, where it currently stands 8th in the table.

One of the departures will be Noah Sadiki, the midfielder who has played almost every game for The Black Cats, who has been named in the DR Congo squad alongside teammate Arthur Masuaku.

Sunderland will also be feeling the absence of defender Reinildo Mandava, who has been called by Mozambique.

Bertrand Traore, the forward who was signed in the summer will play for Burkina Faso at AFCON and he will have to wait for his second goal for the club, having recently scored his first one.

Another Sunderland forward going to the AFCON will be team regular Chemsdine Talbi, the forward who was called by Morocco, the hosts of the tournament.

The most expensive summer signing for the Tyne and Wear side was Senegalese midfielder Habib Diarra, who has not made any appearance since mid-September following his groin surgery.

Burnley - Three players

(Axel Tuanzebe, Lyle Foster and Hannibal Mejbri)

Burnley, currently sitting in 19th in the league table will find life even more difficult during the AFCON period, as their centre-back, Axel Tuanzebe was called up by his national team, DR Congo.

Scott Parker’s side will also miss South African forward Lyle Foster and midfielder Hannibal Mejbri who has been called up by Tunisia, in this crucial period for the team.

Fulham - Three players

(Alex Iwobi, Samuel Chukwueze and Calvin Bassey)

AFCON departures will also impact Fulham who will now have fewer attacking options.

More than a third of Fulham’s goals in the Prem have come thanks to Samuel Chukwueze and Alex Iwobi and they have been called up to the Nigerian squad.

They will also be missing defender Calvin Bassey, another Nigerian, who has featured in every single one of their league games.

Manchester United - Three players

(Bryan Mbeumo, Amad and Noussair Mazraoui)

Three Manchester United players will be part of this year’s AFCON and Ruben Amorim’s team will feel their absence particularly in attack.

The Red Devil’s top scorer this season with eight goals, Bryan Mbeumo, has been called by Cameroon, while Amad has been called up by Ivory Coast.

Defender Noussair Mazraoui, meanwhile, has been called up by hosts Morocco.

Brentford - Two players

(Dango Ouattara and Frank Onyeka)

Club-record signing of Brentford, Dango Outtara, will be the biggest absence for the side currently sitting in 15th in the league table, as he will represent Burkina Faso in the tournament.

Nigeria has called up Frank Onyeka, however he hasn’t made many appearances this season for The Bees.

Everton - Two players

(Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye)

The team from Merseyside will have to make do without their Iliman Ndiaye, their joint-top scorer and midfielder Idrissa Gueye.

They will both feature for Senegal and their absence in The Toffees squad will be a challenging time for David Moyes as they’re competing for securing a European place this season, currently 9th in the Premier League.

Manchester City - Two players

(Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri)

Pep Guardiola’s side will feel the absence of Omar Marmoush, who has been called by Egypt, while Rayan Ait-Nouri has made the Algeria squad.

While Marmoush has mostly been a backup player since returning from injury rather than a regular for Pep, his departure leaves the side with fewer options in attack.

Nottingham Forest - Two players

(Willy Boly and Ibrahim Sangare)

Forest will be left without Willy Boly who will join title holders Ivory Coast. He played only once for Forest this season, in the League Cup, so his absence might be less impacting than that of fellow Ivorian, Ibrahim Sangare, who has been a regular for the Sean Dyche side.

On the other hand, Ola Aina and Taiwo Awoniyi didn’t make the Nigeria squad.

Tottenham Hotspur - Two players

(Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr)

Mali has called up midfielder Yves Bissouma, while Pape Matar Sarr will be part of the Senegal team.

Bissouma has not played yet this season for Spurs under Thomas Frank, while Sarr has seen a dip in his form in recent weeks.

West Ham United - Two players

(Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf)

The Hammers will be without their first-choice right-back and left-back, as Nuno Espirito Santo’s side is struggling in the Prem this season, currently sitting at 18th in the relegation zone.

West Ham will be left without Aaron Wan-Bissaka as he joins up with DR Congo, while Senegal has called up El Hadji Malick Diouf.

Wolverhampton Wanderers - Two players

(Tawanda Chirewa and Emmanuel Agbadou)

Wolves only have two of their players called up, however they could have ended up losing up to five.

Tawanda Chirewa has been called by Zimbabwe while the biggest absence will be that of Ivorian defender Emmanuel Agbadou, as the team currently sits in the bottom of the league table.

Liverpool - One player

(Mohamed Salah)

The Premier League title holders are going to be left without arguably their best player in Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian had a tumultuous few weeks as he recently had a falling out with head coach Arne Slot, however, the Dutch manager insisted that now that he has returned to the side, “there is no issue to resolve” between the two.

Hailed as “The Egyptian King” by the Liverpool supporters, Salah recently made his return to the side as a substitute in last weekend’s win against Brighton at Anfield.
After being on the bench for four consecutive Liverpool games, Salah recently said he was unsure about his future and if he would still be playing for the Reds post-AFCON.

Which clubs have players at AFCON?

Out of the four players that could have gone away for the AFCON for a month, Crystal Palace will feel the absence of only one of them: attacking midfielder Ismaila Sarr who will be part of the Senegal squad.

Cheick Doucoure (Mali), Chadi Riad (Morocco) and Christantus Uche (Nigeria) ended up not being called up for their national teams.

On the other hand, midfielder Carlos Baleba will surely be missed by Brighton, as he joins the Cameroon squad for the tournament.

Ivory Coast, meanwhile, have called up Evan Guessand who has been a key part of Aston Villa’s rotation system under coach Unai Emery, in what so far has been an impressive season.

Which clubs have no players at AFCON?

What might surprise you about this year’s AFCON in Morocco is that a big side such as Ghana has failed to qualify for the tournament, for the first time in 21 years.

This means Bournemouth will not lose their top scorer, Antoine Semenyo, while Amine Adli did not make the Morocco squad.

But most importantly, in what could be seen as a huge boost in their search for a Premier League title for the first time in 22 years, Arsenal will not be losing any players to the tournament.

Chelsea, Leeds United and Newcastle United are the three sides that are also unaffected.