Premier League clubs are bracing for a significant mid-season challenge as several African stars prepare to leave for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), scheduled to take place in Morocco from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026.
The tournament’s timing means top English clubs will lose key players during the congested winter period, potentially affecting title races, top-four battles, and relegation fights. Notably, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, Egypt’s talismanic forward, could miss up to six crucial matches, including encounters against Tottenham, Arsenal, and Fulham.
Manchester United are expected to be without Bryan Mbeumo, Noussair Mazraoui, and Amad Diallo, while Fulham will lose their Nigerian trio of Calvin Bassey, Alex Iwobi, and Samuel Chukwueze. Nottingham Forest will also be hit by the absence of Ola Aina, Willy Boly, and Ibrahim Sangaré, with Tottenham Hotspur missing key midfielders Pape Matar Sarr, Yves Bissouma, and forward Mohammed Kudus.
Other clubs will also be impacted, including Aston Villa (Evann Guessand – Ivory Coast), Brentford (Dango Ouattara – Burkina Faso; Frank Onyeka – Nigeria), Burnley (Lyle Foster – South Africa; Hannibal Mejbri – Tunisia), Crystal Palace (Christantus Uche – Nigeria), Everton (Iliman Ndiaye, Idrissa Gueye – Senegal), Manchester City (Omar Marmoush – Egypt; Rayan Aït-Nouri – Algeria), West Ham (El Hadji Malick Diouf – Senegal; Aaron Wan-Bissaka – DR Congo), and Wolves (Emmanuel Agbadou – Ivory Coast; Tolu Arokodare – Nigeria).
With AFCON 2025 overlapping the Premier League’s busiest stretch, managers will be forced to rely heavily on squad rotation and depth to maintain competitiveness during the absence of their African stars.
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