The Africa Cup of Nations is back this December and January, with the continent's very best set to battle it out in Morocco as they aim to take Cote d'Ivoire's crown after their unlikely victory at the start of 2024. AFCON's prestige, drama and quality remains up there with the Euros and Copa America, but the downside for European clubs is it's another tournament which falls slap bang in the middle of their seasonal calendar, meaning most teams will be losing players for up to a month.
The Premier League's growth to become a truly global competition means all but six teams – Arsenal, Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Leeds United – will be affected, though some will feel the pinch a bit more than others.
We at GOAL have ranked the remaining 14 clubs based on whose prospects of a successful season will most be damaged by players leaving for AFCON. Let's dive in…
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14Manchester City
Number of absentees: 2 – Omar Marmoush (Egypt), Rayan Ait-Nouri (Algeria)
If this were a list ranking teams by how much individual quality each team will lose for AFCON, then clearly Manchester City would be towards the very top. Yet, such are the riches of depth in Pep Guardiola's squad, they will barely be troubled by Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri's exits, especially given the Catalan manager has openly reiterated his desire to trim down his roster. That's why they actually rank bottom.
Marmoush has missed much of this season with a knee injury, while Ait-Nouri has been sidelined with an ankle injury after joining from Wolves. City will probably be just fine.
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13Tottenham
Number of absentees: 2 – Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal), Yves Bissouma (Mali)
Despite starting the season in fine form – you know, that part of the campaign where Tottenham actually looked decent – Pape Matar Sarr has tumbled down the Spurs pecking order in recent weeks, with Thomas Frank preferring the likes of Rodrigo Bentancur, Joao Palhinha, Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray in midfield.
Yves Bissouma, meanwhile, is yet to make an appearance in the Frank era and has only recently recovered from a knee injury ahead of an expected January sale. His inclusion by Mali means he may well have played his last game for the club.
Ghana's absence from the tournament means summer signing Mohammed Kudus will, however, remain at Spurs through the winter.
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12Wolves
Number of absentees: 2 – Tawanda Chirewa (Zimbabwe), Emmanuel Agbadou (Cote d'Ivoire)
Long gone are the days of Wolves boasting elite-level talent such as Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho, while their Premier League status is now under serious threat after a dreadful start to the season. Fortunately for Rob Edwards, his squad hasn't been hit as hard as was previously anticipated.
The Molineux club are still losing Tawanda Chirewa and Emmanuel Agbadou, but the likes of Tolu Arokodare and Marshall Munetsi have been overlooked for AFCON by Nigeria and Zimbabwe, respectively.
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11Brighton
Number of absentees: 1 – Carlos Baleba (Cameroon)
In another life, Carlos Baleba would have joined Manchester United this summer, but Brighton were not interested in sanctioning a sale. His form has since nosedived this season, but given the Red Devils are still keen on Baleba given his outrageous potential, it will be fairly difficult for the Seagulls to do without him regardless.
