Africa Cup of Nations: Top 5 Biggest players from the Premier League

The Africa Cup of Nations starts this weekend, and the excitement builds, however there are key departures for some Premier League teams over this period.

Below we rank the Top 5 ‘Most Missed’ African players from the Premier League.

#5 – Yoane Wissa (Brentford & DR Congo)

The first player who we believe will be ‘The Most Missed’ and will leave the biggest void is Yoane Wissa of Brentford. Wissa is Brentford’s second highest scorer this season, behind Bryan Mbeumo who is injured. Ivan Toney is set to make his return to football on the 17th of January. However, after eight months away from the game, could it take him some time to get back into the swing of things? This all being said, Wissa will not be around for Brentford and his busy and energetic performances will be missed by the Bees. DR Congo are 5/1 to win their group, and there is potential for this with Yoane Wissa’s Premier League experience leading their attack.

#4 – Pape Matar Sarr (Tottenham & Senegal)

The next player who we believe will be ‘The Most Missed’ is Tottenham midfielder Pape Matar Sarr, who has recently signed a new six-and-a-half-year contract, showing how much Tottenham rate him, and why he’s a key component of Ange Postecoglou’s squad. Sarr has made 33 appearances across all competitions for Tottenham since joining the club and this will be a test for them without him at their disposal. Tottenham’s loss is Senegal’s gain, and they are second favourites to win AFCON outright at 6/1.

#3 – Alex Iwobi (Fulham & Nigeria)

Alex Iwobi is ranked number three as a player that’s going to be ‘The Most Missed’ by their Premier League club, in this case Fulham. Iwobi has impressed in a Fulham shirt this season so far, hitting some recent form with skilful displays, including a brace in Fulham’s 5-0 victory against Nottingham Forest. Iwobi has been a key player for Fulham recently and he will be sorely missed in both League Cup semi-finals where Fulham face Liverpool. Iwobi is joined by fellow Cottager Calvin Bassey, who has also become an integral part in Fulham’s lineup this season. The pair will lineup for Nigeria at AFCON who are 10/1 to win the tournament outright.

#2 – Mohamed Salah (Liverpool & Egypt)

It goes without saying that Mohamed Salah is going to be a huge miss for Liverpool during AFCON. Liverpool are top of the league and would not have wanted to lose their star player at this point of the season. The only reason why Salah is not ranked #1 is that Liverpool have a strong squad, and we believe there to be strong replacements in the form of Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, and Harvey Elliott to maintain Liverpool’s strong performances while Salah is away. Egypt have won the most AFCON tournaments with a total of 7 and we think this year could be the year for Salah to win his first. Egypt are 8/1 to win AFCON outright.

#1 – Mohammed Kudus (West Ham & Ghana)

The player that we believe will be ‘The Most Missed’ is Mohammed Kudus of West Ham United. He has been electric this season for West Ham scoring 13 goals in all competitions. West Ham are going to miss the impact he has on games, especially with Lucas Paqueta now injured, it leaves a lot of pressure on Jarrod Bowen. Kudus made his name in the 2022 Qatar World Cup for Ghana and West Ham signed him off the back of his performances at that tournament, which notably included his special brace against South Korea to help Ghana win 3-2. This shows that Kudus is confident in front of goal on the biggest of stages, and he is 33/1 to be the tournament’s top goal scorer.

Other notable players heading to AFCON

There are some players which did not make our Top 5, but their absence is still worth noting. Manchester United’s Andre Onana is going to AFCON with Cameroon, but he doesn’t make our top 5 ‘most missed’ due to the fact that he may not be missed! Turkish International Altay Bayındır signed back in September and hasn’t made an appearance for the club as of yet, but this may be just the opportunity he needs. It’s a similar situation with Chelsea and Senegal Striker Nicolas Jackson, where his indifferent form for Chelsea has led us to question whether the club will miss their summer signing too much.

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