Which Premier League Teams will be impacted the Most by AFCON?

The Africa Cup of Nations, also known as AFCON, provides us with some magical moments of excitement, thrill and even the unknown. Hosting this year’s tournament is Morocco, who are the favourites to win the competition due to the home advantage and the strength of the team, captained by African Player of the Year 2025, Achraf Hakimi.

Every two years, clubs around the world are hit by AFCON, losing some of their most important players. In the Premier League, this 2025/26 season is no different, with 14 clubs seeing at least one player depart for AFCON. Therefore, in this article, we have ranked which EPL teams will be hit the hardest by AFCON departures, also including the players leaving for the nations.

Sunderland

Players Departing for AFCON:

• Reinildo Mandava (Mozambique)
• Arthur Masuaku (Democratic Republic of Congo)
• Noah Sadiki (Democratic Republic of Congo)
• Habib Diarra (Senegal)
• Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco)
• Bertrand Traoré (Burkina Faso)

Sunderland’s story in the EPL this season has been one of drama, excitement and thrill, currently finding themselves in 8th place in the league table. That could all change in the space of four weeks, as we predict Sunderland to be hit by AFCON the most due to losing more players than any other side, who are extremely key to Regis Le Bris’ side and are in for some really tough fixtures against Manchester City and Tottenham at the start of 2026.

Losing your starting and backup left-back in Reinildo and Arthur Mauaku is not ideal, leaving Le Bris with youngster Dennis Cirkin, who has yet to feature in the EPL so far.

Also departing the Black Cats is Noah Sadiki, who has impressed many critics since joining in the summer of 2025, forming a solid partnership alongside Granit Xhaka.

Senegalese midfielder Habib Diarra has been out injured with a groin injury since 21 September 2025, but remains included in Senegal’s selection.

Lastly, wingers Bertrand Traoré and Chemsdine Talbi leave for Burkina Faso and Morocco, respectively, which are huge losses, seeing the likely inclusion of Ivorian Simon Adingra and youngster Romaine Mundle take their places.

Manchester United

Players Departing for AFCON:

• Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco)
• Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast)
• Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon)

Ruben Amorim has finally managed to find form at a much-improved Man United, who find themselves in 6th place at this moment in time. But the Portuguese manager is losing three key players due to AFCON: Noussair Mazraoui, Amad Diallo and Bryan Mbeumo. The departures of Amad Diallo and Bryan Mbeumo are the main reasons why Manchester United are in second place, due to the pair’s involvement in United’s comeback story. 

Defender Noussair Mazraoui isn’t a huge loss in all honesty, playing just nine games in the EPL, three from coming off the bench. Amorim seems to have favoured Diogo Dalot and Lenny Yoro on the right-hand side of the Man United defence.

Diallo has appeared 15 times for Man United this season, with only one coming from the bench, scoring and assisting twice. The Ivorian has mainly featured at right wing-back, so expect to see the experienced and more suited Diogo Dalot take his place.

Mbeumo is United’s top scorer in the EPL and second for the Red Devils attacking contribution, tallying six goals and one assist. Versatility from either Bruno Fernandes or Mason Mount will be required to play in the right forward role, which is not the primary position for either player.

Everton

Players Departing for AFCON:

• Idrissa Gana Gueye (Senegal)
• Iliman Ndiaye (Senegal)

Everton have been extremely impressive under David Moyes this season, and although in 9th, the Toffees are four points off the top four. However, the next four weeks look to be challenging without their star, Iliman Ndiaye and the experienced Idrissa Gana Gueye. Fortunately, their upcoming fixtures are not too challenging, but Moyes would want to pick up as many points as possible and without the Senegalese pair, his side could drop crucial points.

It feels like Idrissa Gana Gueye has been playing football forever, yet it doesn’t feel like the midfielder is 36 due to his relentless fitness and stamina. His ball-winning abilities and desirable experience have been crucial under Moyes’ hard-working and structured team, which will be hugely missed whilst he is away with Senegal. Moyes will have to opt for either Carlos Alcaraz or Tim Iroegbunam.

It wouldn’t come as a surprise if Iliman Ndiaye is being eyed up by the world’s biggest teams, as the Senegalese attacker has lit up the EPL this season with his fancy footwork and electric skills. Arguably, Ndiaye is Everton’s player of the season so far, so to see him depart for AFCON is a huge blow for Moyes, who will most likely use Tyler Dibling.

Fulham

Players Departing for AFCON:

• Calvin Bassey (Nigeria)
• Alex Iwobi (Nigeria)
• Samuel Chukwueze (Nigeria)

Fulham lose three of its main starting players to Nigeria in left centre-back Calvin Bassey, versatile midfielder Alex Iwobi and winger Samuel Chukwueze. All three provide balance and threat down the left-hand side of the pitch, which is essential for Silva’s style, especially due to this potential tough run for the Cottagers, who play Crystal Palace, Liverpool and Chelsea during the absences of the Nigerian trio.

Bassey’s partnership with Andersen has been crucial for Marco Silva, with backup Jorge Cuenca most likely to fill in for the Nigerian centre-back. Cuenca has only featured seven times for Fulham this season, three times in the EPL and four times in the EFL Cup.

Alex Iwobi has emerged as Fulham’s main man during his two previous seasons at Fulham, with the 2024/25 season being his standout campaign during his whole career, where he scored nine goals and assisted 6 times in the EPL. His versatility will be extremely missed, with the ability to play in midfield and out on the left wing. There is no one quite like Iwobi at Fulham, so Silva will have to play more structured with Saša Lukić and Tom Cairney.

Samuel Chukwueze joined Fulham in the 2025/26 summer transfer window and has recently hit the ground running with a brace against Manchester City, providing three assists in his previous five games. Silva will most likely opt for Kevin, who also joined in the summer window but has really struggled to new life in England, so Fulham has lost a huge threat in attack.

West Ham

Players Departing for AFCON:

• Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Democratic Republic of Congo)
• Malick Diouf (Senegal)

Yes, West Ham’s season is already going poorly, with Nuno Espirito Santos struggling to turn the tide, so can things really get any worse? The short and simple answer is yes, due to the absence of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Malick Diouf, who are both Nuno’s starting full-backs. 

Wan-Bissaka had a solid 2024/25 campaign at West Ham, but, like Baleba, hasn’t lived up to his individual standards. Nuno will likely replace Wan-Bissaka with the summer signing Kyle Walker-Peters, but even he has looked miles off the pace we have seen from him in the past.

Malick Diouf has the most appearances in the EPL for West Ham this season, joint with Jarrod Bowen, which is really telling. Clearly, Diouf is an important player for the Hammers, and the main problem is that Nuno does not have a great replacement for the Senegalese left-back. The highly anticipated youngster, Oliver Scarles, could be used, or the loan signing of Igor Julio could come in handy, who has experience playing left-back in the past.

Crystal Palace

Players Departing for AFCON:

• Ismaïla Sarr (Senegal)

Crystal Palace are set to lose key winger Ismaïla Sarr to Senegal, who has been key for Oliver Glasner’s side this season. The right-winger has scored eight goals in all competitions so far, providing a real attacking threat alongside French striker Jean-Philippe Mateta.  

Despite having other attacking options like Eddie Nketiah and Christantus Uche, the Eagles are without a proper right forward. Nketiah is most likely to get the nod ahead of Uche, or we could see potential starts for youngsters Justin Devenny and Romain Esse. However, they all lack the natural positional experience of Sarr, making this a big loss for Glasner’s side.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Players Departing for AFCON:

• Emmanuel Agbadou (Ivory Coast)
• Tawanda Chiwera (Zimbabwe)

Wolverhampton Wanderers have had an absolute shock horror of a season, placed at the rock bottom of the EPL with things looking unlikely to change under new head coach, Rob Edwards. Similar to West Ham’s situation, it can’t get any worse, can it? Using the popular Mick McCarthy quote, “It can.” 

Wolves are set to lose Emmanuel Agbadou, who is arguably Wolves’ most important centre-back option, having played 13 out of 16 EPL games this season. The main problem is that not many can play in the middle centre-back role as well as Agbadou, so Edwards may be forced to play the conventional four-back. Realistically, what has Edwards got to lose?

In addition to Agbadou’s departure is the Zimbabwe international Tawanda Chiwera, who has made one appearance for Wolves in the EPL, and that was coming off the bench. Zimbabwe’s AFCON selection caused an upset to Marshall Munetsi after being left out, with many predicting the midfielder to be on the plane to Morocco.

Brighton

Players Departing for AFCON:

• Carlos Baleba (Cameroon)

Despite losing only one player in Carlos Baleba, it is a huge loss to Brighton’s midfield, with the Cameroon international providing huge amounts of quality. Yes, Baleba hasn’t lived up to the same standard as the 2024/25 campaign he had, but no Brighton midfielder has appeared more times than Baleba, proving his importance and dominance in Fabian Hürzeler’s team.

However, Hürzeler has many options in midfield, such as the versatile Mats Wieffer, Brajan Gruda, Jack Hinshelwood, James Milner and Yasin Ayari. Therefore, as much of a miss it is for Brighton, they should cope.

Nottingham Forest

Players Departing for AFCON:

• Willy Boly (Ivory Coast)
• Ibrahim Sangaré (Ivory Coast)

Sean Dyche has managed to gain some good results since joining Nottingham Forest on 21 October 2025, including a 2-0 win over FC Porto in the UEFA Europa League, a 3-0 win against Liverpool at Anfield and their most recent 3-0 win against Tottenham. Part of Dyche’s side has been a much-improved Ibrahim Sangaré, who provides a strong physical presence and can progress the ball through breaking the lines or powerfully dribbling. 

Therefore, to lose Sangaré is a huge blow for Dyche, but he has many options to cover the Ivorian while he is away at AFCON. Both Nicolás Domínguez and Ryan Yates are expected to come back from injury, Douglas Luiz remains fit and ready to be called upon, and James McAtee could play in the attacking spot, seeing the versatile Morgan Gibbs-White drop into more of a box-to-box role.

Willy Boly is somewhat of a ghost at Forest, having played zero minutes in the EPL this season; many have most likely forgotten the Ivorian was even at the club. But, it is a hit to the defensive depth for Dyche.

Liverpool

Players Departing for AFCON:

• Mohamed Salah (Egypt)

If this were last season, Liverpool would be in the top three on this list, potentially first, depending on other clubs’ situations. Salah has struggled this season and very recently stirred the pot in an interview where it is inferred that he has a poor relationship with Arne Slot. 

Therefore, Liverpool is placed in 10th as Salah's departure for AFCON could be viewed as a positive for Slot because he can freely experiment with his squad, without the toxicity and pressure coming from all angles. However, it is undeniable that Salah provides that extra quality, whether that is from a starting position or coming off the bench, you can predict he will make an impact.

Tottenham Hotspur

Players Departing for AFCON:

• Yves Bissouma (Mali)
• Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal)

Tottenham are set to lose Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr during AFCON, and will be thanking their lucky stars that Ghana didn’t qualify, as Mohammed Kudus would have departed, which would have been a huge blow for Thomas Frank. 

Yves Bissouma has been injured since the start of the season after picking up a knee injury on 15 August 2025. However, it is expected that he will return in time for Mali’s campaign at AFCON; yet, it remains unclear when exactly he will feature.

Pape Matar Sarr has struggled for gametime this season, starting seven games and coming off the bench also seven times. There are fair rotational options for Frank, including Joao Palhinha, Lucas Bergvall, Rodrigo Bentancur and Archie Gray. Therefore, Sarr’s departure is not a huge loss.

Manchester City

Players Departing for AFCON:

• Rayan Aït-Nouri (Algeria)
• Omar Marmoush (Egypt)

Manchester City will lose two players to AFCON, including left-back Rayan Aït-Nouri and forward Omar Marmoush. Despite the pair’s quality, they have not featured many times for Pep Guardiola in this 2025/26 season, which is why Man City are placed so low in this list. 

There was high anticipation surrounding Rayan Aït-Nouri’s move to Man City, joining in the summer from Wolves for a deal worth £36.3m. However, the Algerian has only featured five times in the EPL, and two of those five appearances were as a substitute from the sidelines. Youngster Nico O’Reilly has emerged as Guardiola’s preferred left-back choice, who is improving game after game. 

Omar Marmoush’s time at Man City has been fairly underwhelming, but take nothing away from the amount of quality he possesses, along with providing some magical moments. This 2025/25 season, the Egyptian forward has scored only one goal, which came in the EFL Cup against Swansea City. Marmoush has really struggled to break into the starting eleven in all competitions. 

Burnley

Players Departing for AFCON:

• Axel Tuanzebe (Democratic Republic of Congo)
• Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia)
• Lyle Foster (South Africa)

Although Scott Parker’s Burnley side is in 19th place, they have looked fairly impressive and shocked many critics, as many believed they were a write-off for this season. The Clarets will be losing three players due to AFCON: versatile defender Axel Tuanzebe, midfielder Hannibal Mejbri and striker Lyle Foster. 

Axel Tuanzebe joined in the summer, with Parker aiming to add depth and experience to his backline. Tuanzebe is often praised for his versatility in playing at right-back and centre-back, but he has not made a huge impact for Burnley. In fact, he has only featured eight times so far this season, needing to be called upon due to teammates’ suspensions or injuries.

Hannibal Mejbri was part of Parker’s Burnley side that was promoted into the EPL from last season, but has struggled for minutes this season. Therefore, it is not a huge loss for Parker, who favours captain Josh Cullen, summer signings Florentino Luís and Lesley Ugochukwu and the experienced Josh Laurent.

Lyle Foster has started more times in the EPL for Burnley this season, compared to fellow strikers Zian Flemming and Armando Broja. The South African has scored twice in the EPL, which is fewer than Zian Flemming, on five, which could give the Dutchman a chance to prove himself worthy of the starting striker spot while Foster is away.

Brentford

Players Departing for AFCON:

• Frank Onyeka (Nigeria)
• Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso)

Brentford see departures from central defensive midfielder Frank Onyeka to Nigeria and winger Dango Ouattara to Burkina Faso. But this is not a huge loss for Brentford due to the versatility of other players in the squad. 

Frank Onyeka has reached his 5th season with the Bees, but has never been perceived as the club’s main man in midfield, with fellow teammates viewed as more important, like Vitaly Janelt, Matthias Jensen and Christian Nørgaard, before he left for Arsenal in the summer. This 2025/26 season alone, Onyeka has only appeared six times in the EPL for Keith Andrews, all six of those are from coming off the substitution bench.

Dango Ouattara was fantastic for AFC Bournemouth in the 2024/25 season, scoring nine goals and assisting four times in all competitions for the Cherries. Therefore, many were predicting his experience in England would follow over to Brentford, but maybe more time is needed for the 23-year-old. This is quite a big loss for Andrews, but there are equally good options in the squad, such as Keane Lewis-Potter and Reiss Nelson.

Arsenal, AFC Bournemouth, Chelsea, Leeds United and Newcastle are not seeing anyone leave the squad because of AFCON, giving them slight advantages over their opponents this period. Aston Villa could lose Evian Guessand, who is part of the squad selection, but did not travel, with the Ivorian forward featuring in the Villans' squad against Manchester United. 

It will depend on how far each African nation gets in this year’s AFCON, but every player leaving their EPL clubs to play for solid sides like Senegal, Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria and DR Congo, who will be expected to advance far in the competition.