Which Premier League Players are at AFCON?

The Africa Cup of Nations gets underway on Sunday night and runs until January 18, with several stars from across the globe trying to win this competition for their nations. 

Below, I’ve run through the Premier League players that will be playing at Afcon, and which English teams could be affected the most. So let’s answer the question, which Premier League players are at AFCON?

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Arsenal, Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Chelsea, Leeds and Newcastle (0)

The lucky ones? Six Premier League clubs have no players heading to Afcon, including league leaders Arsenal, and high-flying Aston Villa. Antoine Semenyo’s Ghana did not qualify, while Newcastle’s Yoane Wissa hasn’t been selected by DR Congo as he has only just returned from injury. 

Brentford (Dango Ouattara and Frank Onyeka)

Brentford will have to cope without club-record signing Dango Ouattara, as he is set to star for Burkina Faso. The £42.5m forward will be a miss, while midfielder Frank Onyeka has only played 88 minutes in the league this season and will represent Nigeria.

Brighton (Carlos Baleba)

Wanted man Carlos Baleba is Brighton’s only absentee, with the midfielder set to play a key role for Cameroon. Meanwhile, Yankuba Minteh’s Gambia did not qualify for Afcon 2026. 

Burnley (Axel Tuanzebe, Lyle Foster and Hannibal Mejbri)

Axel Tuanzebe will be playing for DR Congo, Lyle Foster will feature for South Africa, and midfielder Hannibal Mejbri will represent Tunisia.

Football Odds

Crystal Palace (Ismaila Sarr)

Crystal Palace will have to make do without star winger Ismaila Sarr who has scored eight this term, but Christantus Uche hasn’t been selected for Nigeria. 

Everton (Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye)

Everton are going to have to make do without two of their stars, in the form of Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye. Beto however didn’t qualify with Guinea-Bissau but David Moyes will have to find some solutions over the next few weeks. 

Fulham (Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey and Samuel Chukwueze)

Marco Silva will be gutted to lose three stars in the form of Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey and Samuel Chukwueze - all of whom have been called up for Nigeria. The former duo have played in every league match this term while Chukwueze scored twice against Man City recently.

Liverpool (Mo Salah)

Mo Salah has been in the headlines recently, and may well have played his last game for Liverpool if he gets a January move. He is going to be Egypt’s star man once again.

Manchester City (Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri)

Two fringe players are missing for Manchester City, with Omar Marmoush set to feature along with Salah for Egypt, while Ryan Ait-Nouri has been called up by Algeria. Both players have struggled with injuries this term and therefore Pep Guardiola should be able to cope without them.

Manchester United (Bryan Mbeumo, Amad Diallo and Noussair Mazraoui)

Bryan Mbeumo will be a big miss to Manchester United ove the next few weeks and he will fancy his chances of going all the way with Cameroon. Meanwhile, Amad Diallo and Noussair Mazraoui have both played on the right-hand side, and will feature for Ivory Coast and Morocco respectively. 

Nottingham Forest (Ibrahim Sangare and Willy Boly)

Full-back Ola Aina and forward Taiwo Awoniyi were not selected by Nigeria after missing loads of football this term, but Ibrahim Sangare is in the Ivory Coast squad. Perhaps surprisingly, Willy Boly has also been called up by the Elephants despite his lack of action this term in the Premier League. 

Sunderland (Chemsdine Talbi, Reinildo, Bertrand Traore, Arthur Masuaku, Noah Sadiki and Habib Diarra)

With six players heading to Afcon, Sunderland are the most-affected club in the Premier League by some margin. Morocco’s Chemsdine Talbi will hope to stay for the hosts, while DR Congo duo Arthur Masuaku and Noah Sadiki will also hope to claim a few scalps. 

Habib Diarra hasn’t featured since September for Sunderland but is in Senegal’s squad, and Mozambique full-back Reinildo will be a miss for the Black Cats - but on the positive side for the club, Ivory Coast winger Simon Adingra and Cameroon's Blondy Nna Noukeu both didn’t make their nation’s squads. 

The players heading to Morocco have made a combined 50 Premier League appearances this season. Ouch. 

Tottenham Hotspur (Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr)

Spurs will miss two midfielders - Mali's Yves Bissouma and Senegal's Pape Matar Sarr. Bissouma is yet to feature for Spurs this season having had an ankle operation but his country are hopeful he can feature. Thomas Frank will have Mohammed Kudus available however as England’s World Cup opponents Ghana failed to qualify.

West Ham (Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf )

Both West Ham full-backs are heading to Afcon as Aaron Wan-Bissaka will join up with DR Congo and left-back El Hadji Malick Diouf is in the Senegal squad.

Wolves (Emmanuel Agbadou and Tawanda Chirewa )

Wolves haven’t won a game this season and now Tawanda Chirewa and Emmanuel Agbadou are heading to Afcon. Zimbabwe's Marshall Munetsi was surprisingly not selected for Zimbabwe.