The biggest football competition on African soil is here; the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) is set to start on January 9, 2022 and run until February 6. There has been a push and pull between clubs and countries and sadly, this has seen a number of players left out.
Most of the players heading to the competition are, understandably, drawn from the French leagues but the biggest focus will definitely be on the Premier League stars heading to the competition.
The AFCON 2022 was postponed twice but this time it is all systems go with SportyTrader set to offer the betting tips for the biennial football extravaganza that will see 16 of the 20 Premier League teams release a total of 38 players. Leeds United, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and Norwich City are the teams without players leaving for the competition.
It is going to be toughest for Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Leicester City, and Watford as they’ll be losing four players each. Here’s the full list of players set to leave after clubs were given up to January 3, 2022 to release players.
Arsenal
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon)
- Mohamed Elneny (Egypt)
- Thomas Partey (Ghana)
- Nicolas Pepe (Ivory Coast)
Aston Villa
- Marvelous Nakamba (Zimbabwe)
- Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso)
- Mahmoud Trezeguet (Egypt)
Brentford
- Tarique Fosu-Henry (Ghana)
- Julian Jeanvier (Guinea)
- Frank Onyeka (Nigeria)
Brighton
- Yves Bissouma (Mali)
Burnley
- Maxwel Cornet (Ivory Coast)
Chelsea
- Edouard Mendy (Senegal)
Crystal Palace
- Jordan Ayew (Ghana)
- Chiekhou Kouyate (Senegal)
- Jeffrey Schlupp (Ghana)
- Wilfried Zaha (Ivory Coast)
Everton
- Jean-Phillippe Gbamin (Ivory Coast)
- Alex Iwobi (Nigeria)
Leicester City
- Daniel Amartey (Ghana)
- Kelechi Iheanacho (Nigeria)
- Nampalys Mendy (Senegal)
- Wilfried Ndidi (Nigeria)
Liverpool
- Naby Keita (Guinea)
- Sadio Mane (Senegal)
- Mohamed Salah (Egypt)
Manchester City
- Riyad Mahrez (Algeria)
Manchester United
- Eric Bailly (Ivory Coast)
- Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast)
Southampton
- Moussa Djenepo (Mali)
- Mohammed Salisu (Ghana)
Watford
- Peter Etebo (Nigeria)
- Adam Masina (Morocco)
- Ismaila Sarr* (Senegal)
- William Troost-Ekong (Nigeria)
West Ham
- Said Benrahma (Algeria)
Wolves
- Willy Boly (Ivory Coast)
- Romain Saiss (Morocco)
Chelsea forward Hakim Ziyech was overlooked by the Morocco national team due to a rift with the coach and he will be available for the Blues.
Emmanuel Dennis, who has been in great form for Watford, was called into the Nigeria squad but had to be left out after the club declined top release him, stating that they were not notified in time by the Nigerian FA, of the intention to have him for the competition.
The push and pull between club and country is not only limited to Nigerian star Emmanuel Dennis, his team mate at Watford Ismaila Sarr, will also not be available for Senegal. The Senegal FA has said in a statement that the club refused to release him and as such has been omitted. Senegal coach Aliou Cisse was on record putting to task Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp over his comment that AFCON was a small tournament. Failure to get Sarr will most definitely irk him as the calls for AFCON to get the required respect and recognition get louder.