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Names Of English Premier League Players Set For 2023 AFCON
Most of the Premier League clubs in the 2023-2024 season will miss at least one player as the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is set to commence on January 13.
Over 40 Premier League players will miss most of the league games scheduled for January to at most, February 11 due to the 2023 AFCON in Ivory Coast.
The worst-hit Premier League club is Nottingham Forest who could miss at least six of their players, excluding the injured Taiwo Awoniyi, due to the tournament.
Another set of clubs that are heavily hit in the league are Manchester United, West Ham United, and Brighton who have at least four players each who would travel down to Ivory Coast for the biggest football festival in Africa.
Note that the 2023 AFCON was initially billed to take place between June and July this year but had to be postponed to January and February due to the unfriendly weather in Ivory Coast.
The initial schedule would have prevented the tournament from clashing with the schedule of the major leagues in Europe. Unfortunately, that can no longer be avoided as clubs across the world, especially in Europe, would have to lose some of their most important players in the most important period of the season.
Below are all the Premier League players that will be in Ivory Coast for the 2023 AFCON:
Arsenal
Thomas Partey – Ghana
Mohamed Elneny – Egypt
Aston Villa
Bertrand Traore – Burkina Faso
Bournemouth
Hamed Traore – Ivory Coast
Dango Ouatarra – Burkina Faso
Antoine Semenyo – Ghana
Brentford
Frank Onyeka – Nigeria
Bryan Mbuemo – Cameroon
Yoane Wissa – DR Congo
Brighton
Tariq Lamptey – Ghana
Carlos Baleba – Cameroon
Simon Adingra – Ivory Coast
Samy Chouchane – Tunisia
Burnley
Anass Zaroury – Morocco
Lyle Foster – South Africa
Chelsea
Nicolas Jackson – Senegal
Crystal Palace
Jordan Ayew – Ghana
Cheick Doucoure – Mali
Everton
Idrissa Gueye – Senegal
Fulham
Calvin Bassey – Nigeria
Alex Iwobi – Nigeria
Fode Ballo-Toure – Senegal
Liverpool
Mohamed Salah – Egypt
Luton Town
Issa Kabore – Burkina Faso
Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu – DR Congo
Manchester United
Andre Onana – Cameroon
Sofyan Amrabat – Morocco
Hannibal Mejbri – Tunisia
Amad Diallo – Ivory Coast
Nottingham Forest
Serge Aurier – Ivory Coast
Willy Boly – Ivory Coast
Ibrahim Sangare – Ivory Coast
Moussa Niakhate – Senegal
Cheikhou Kouyate – Senegal
Taiwo Awoniyi – Nigeria (out with an injury)
Ola Aina – Nigeria
Sheffield United
Ismaila Coulibaly – Mali
Anis Ben Slimane – Tunisia
Tottenham Hotspur
Pape Matar Sarr – Senegal
Yves Bissouma – Mali
West Ham United
Mohamed Kudus – Ghana
Maxwell Cornet – Ivory Coast
Nayef Aguerd – Morocco
Said Benrahma – Algeria
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Rayan Ait-Nouri – Algeria
Boubacar Traore – Mali
Arsenal midfielder, Thomas Partey is set to make a return from injury by the end of January.
Partey has made good progress in his rehabilitation work and will hand the Gunners a timely boost.
The Ghanaian has been plagued with different injuries throughout his time in England and picked up a groin problem at the beginning of the season.
He briefly returned to action in October, but picked up another long-term muscular injury.
Partey was then left out of Ghana’s final squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
However, The Mirror reports that the 30-year-old has shown progress in his rehabilitation work and could return to the first team ahead of their Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest on January 30.
Chelsea’s stance on sacking their manager, Mauricio Pochettino has been revealed.
Pochettino is under significant pressure as head coach at Stamford Bridge due to the club’s not too impressive display this season.
The Argentine recently watched as Middlesbrough defeated the Blues 1-0 in the Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg tie.
His team currently sit in the 10th position on the Premier League table after 20 games this season.
However, according to The Telegraph, Pochettino’s job is safe for now despite their latest defeat to Middlesbrough.
The report added that his position at the west London club is not in jeopardy while Chelsea have a ‘realistic chance’ of qualifying for Europe.
Super Eagles head coach, Jose Peseiro has said his side can’t use the difficult weather condition in Abidjan as an excuse ahead of their opening game at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
The West Africans arrived Abidjan in buoyant mood on Wednesday morning despite losing 2-0 to Guinea in a friendly two days earlier.
The Eagles had a light training session after setting down at their base, the magnificent Pullman Hotel.
Peseiro stated that his team must focus on the task ahead and not allow any form of distraction.
“We cannot give excuses about the weather; we need to put in our focus, adapt well and do our best ahead of the first match, which is very important for us,” he told NFF TV.
The Super Eagles will open their campaign at the 2023 AFCON finals against Equatorial Guinea on Sunday.
They will also face hosts, Cote d’Ivoire and Guinea-Bissau in the group stage.
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