The upcoming African Cup of Nations, scheduled to take place from January 13th to February 11th, is set to strip the top five European leagues (France, Italy, Spain, Germany, and England) of their star players, with a potential loss of 226 players for a month.
This represents the number of African players who have been involved at some international stage with the 24 teams eligible to participate in the African Cup of Nations, boasting players from the premier European leagues.
According to a report from the Spanish newspaper “Mundo Deportivo” on Thursday, this will undoubtedly be a harsh setback for clubs, losing, to a varying extent, key players in their strategies for a month.
The impact of the African Cup of Nations-induced player exodus is expected to be particularly challenging for some teams.
The club that may suffer the most significant loss of players is Metz from the French league, with up to 11 players called up by their national teams on various occasions.
This includes essential contributors this season for Metz, such as Gueye, Diallo, and Sabaly, who have collectively scored eight, seven, and six goals this year, respectively.
Nottingham Forest could be the second most affected team on the continent, potentially missing up to seven players for a month from the English Premier League.
However, the departure that will undoubtedly impact coach Nuno Espirito Santo the most will be that of Nigerian forward Onyekuru, who has netted 12 goals in 2023.
Bayer Leverkusen’s coach, Xabi Alonso, will have to continue his successful Bundesliga campaign without five players if they are called up for national duty, as in previous instances.
The departure of Nigerian forward Boniface, who has scored 16 goals this season, will undoubtedly pose the toughest challenge for the Spanish coach.
In La Liga, Almeria and Las Palmas, with four potential absences each, are expected to be the most affected, in a competition where powerhouses like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Getafe, and Osasuna will not lose any of their players.
In Italy, Udinese and Salernitana will miss five African players who could participate in the competition and were occasional internationals.
They are the two teams most affected in Serie A, while major clubs like Milan, Napoli, and Roma will lose two players each (Bennacer, Chukwueze, Anguissa, Osimhen, and Owa).
Some top teams will lose key stars, including Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Boulaye Dia (Salernitana), Omar Marmoush (Eintracht), Gera (Stuttgart), Guehi (Lens), and Mohamed Kudos (West Ham), and Haaland (Dortmund).
Without a doubt, the French league is expected to be the most affected, with a potential absence of 88 players.
Following that, with 48 players, will be the English Premier League, while Serie A might be without 37 players.
La Liga could lose 27 players, and the Bundesliga might face a loss of 26 players.
In total, up to a maximum of 226 players will be absent from the top five leagues to participate in the African Cup of Nations to be held in Ivory Coast.
