Premier League Clubs Face Major Disruption: Analyzing the 2025 AFCON Impact and Most Affected Teams

The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations begins on Sunday, December 21, and will significantly disrupt the Premier League as 32 top-flight players divert their attention from club football to representing their countries in Morocco. With the tournament running through December and January—one of the most congested periods in English football—some clubs will feel the impact far more acutely than others.

This comprehensive analysis examines which Premier League teams face the greatest challenges during 2025 AFCON, the key players they’ll be missing, and why these absences could prove decisive in their season objectives.

The Scale of the Disruption

Overall, 32 Premier League players have been selected to represent their national teams at 2025 AFCON, creating varying levels of disruption across the division. The tournament’s timing during the festive fixture congestion makes these absences particularly problematic, as clubs navigate their busiest period without some of their most influential performers.

The distribution of call-ups is notably uneven, with newly-promoted Sunderland losing nearly a fifth of all Premier League players attending the tournament, while six clubs—Arsenal, Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Chelsea, Leeds United, and Newcastle United—escape without losing a single player.

Sunderland: The Hardest Hit (Six Players)

Sunderland have enjoyed an exceptional start to life back in the Premier League, with their derby victory over Newcastle United taking them to 26 points from 16 games. Remarkably, they’ve already accumulated more points than all three promoted clubs managed in the entirety of 2024-25—Leicester (25), Ipswich (22), and Southampton (12)—with less than half the season complete.

However, their momentum faces a significant test. Six Sunderland players will depart for 2025 AFCON, representing nearly a fifth of all Premier League participants at the tournament and double the tally of any other club.

These six players have collectively played 4,412 minutes and made 61 appearances in the Premier League this season—a higher total than any other side. The departures create gaping holes across Régis Le Bris’s squad.

Noah Sadiki represents Sunderland’s biggest loss. The tireless midfielder has missed just 26 minutes of their Premier League campaign and plays a crucial role building possession from deep-lying positions alongside Granit Xhaka while also functioning as an adept ball-winner. Sadiki (8 chances created) is one of Sunderland’s top seven chance creators this season, as are fellow 2025 AFCON absentees Traoré (8) and Talbi (7).

The only consolation for Le Bris is avoiding a seventh departure, with Côte d’Ivoire leaving Simon Adingra out of their final squad for the tournament.

Manchester United: Attacking Firepower Depleted (Three Players)

Manchester United pair Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo made their final Premier League appearances before heading to 2025 AFCON in Monday’s entertaining 4-4 draw with Bournemouth. Amad scored the Red Devils’ opening goal, while Mbeumo was a constant threat—albeit wasteful—throughout, reminding United fans precisely how much they’ll miss the pair during the tournament.

Mbeumo is United’s top scorer in the Premier League this season with six goals, while he’s accumulated the highest expected goals total (5.6) in their squad. He’s also their third-most prolific creator from open play in the competition (17), behind only Amad (25) and Bruno Fernandes (30).

Noussair Mazraoui will also represent hosts Morocco at 2025 AFCON, though the full-back has played just 442 minutes of Premier League action this season, making his absence less impactful than his attacking colleagues.

Fulham: Nigerian Trio Creates Significant Void (Three Players)

Fulham are losing their Nigerian contingent—Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey, and Samuel Chukwueze—with Marco Silva hoping they don’t advance as deep into the tournament as expected. Should Nigeria reach the final on January 18, as they did at the previous AFCON, Fulham will be without them for at least six Premier League matches.

Both Iwobi and Bassey have featured in all 16 of Fulham’s league matches this season, with former Arsenal midfielder Iwobi serving as their leading chance creator in the competition in 2025-26 (23 chances created). Bassey’s defensive solidity has been equally crucial to their impressive campaign.

Samuel Chukwueze has emerged as a key attacking weapon in the last month, registering five goal involvements in his last five Premier League appearances (two goals, three assists). Only Harry Wilson (8) has more league goal involvements than Chukwueze (6) for Fulham overall this season, highlighting his growing importance to Silva’s tactics.

Burnley: Balanced Departmental Losses (Three Players)

Burnley lose three players to 2025 AFCON, with departures affecting every line of their formation. Defender Axel Tuanzebe (DR Congo), midfielder Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia), and forward Lyle Foster (South Africa) will all represent their respective nations, creating gaps across the Clarets’ squad structure.

While none of these players carry the statistical weight of some Premier League stars heading to Morocco, their collective absence forces manager Vincent Kompany to navigate the congested festive period with reduced squad depth across all areas of the pitch.

Seven Clubs Losing Two Players Each

Seven Premier League clubs will see two players depart for 2025 AFCON, though the impact varies dramatically based on the importance of those individuals.

Everton: Key Playmakers Absent

Everton arguably faces the biggest impact among clubs losing two players. Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye both depart to represent Senegal, and both have featured regularly for David Moyes’ side in 2025-26.

Ndiaye is one of Everton’s primary attacking threats, with no Toffees player registering more Premier League goal involvements than him (6) this season. Only Jack Grealish (28) has created more chances than the Senegal international (16) at the club. Both players also feature in the top four for Everton when examining open-play sequence involvements leading to shots, with only Grealish (73) ahead of Ndiaye (54), and Gueye ranking fourth with 45.

West Ham: Full-Back Crisis

West Ham will lose both their first-choice full-backs to 2025 AFCON, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka representing DR Congo and El Hadji Malick Diouf named in Senegal’s squad.

The Hammers aren’t a side who frequently deliver crosses from open play—their tally of 176 ranks fifth-lowest in the Premier League—but when they do, Diouf (48) and Wan-Bissaka (20) account for nearly 40% of them. Diouf is also West Ham’s leading assist provider in the league this season (3), while these two rank first (Wan-Bissaka: 21) and second (Diouf: 16) for interceptions at the club in 2025-26.

Manchester City: Minimal Impact

Manchester City are losing two players who haven’t featured prominently in Premier League action during 2025-26. Omar Marmoush (206 minutes) will represent Egypt while Rayan Aït-Nouri (205 minutes) joins Algeria’s squad. Neither absence will significantly disrupt Pep Guardiola’s tactical plans.

Nottingham Forest: Sangaré’s Importance

Nottingham Forest will undoubtedly feel the absence of Ibrahim Sangaré. The Côte d’Ivoire midfielder has appeared in 13 of their 16 Premier League games and ranks inside the top five Forest players for both tackles (third, with 27) and interceptions (fifth, with 10).

He signed off in style in the 3-0 victory over Spurs on Sunday, becoming the first Forest player to provide a goal and two assists in a Premier League game since Steve Stone against QPR in May 1996. Forest could have lost additional players, but Nigerian pair Ola Aina and Taiwo Awoniyi didn’t receive call-ups—though both are carrying injuries that may limit their availability regardless.

Tottenham’s Yves Bissouma (Mali) and Forest’s Willy Boly (Côte d’Ivoire) are also heading to Morocco despite neither having played a single minute in the Premier League this term.

Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers

Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers round out the clubs losing two players each to 2025 AFCON, though specific details on their departures and impact weren’t extensively covered in the analysis.

Three Clubs Losing One Player Each: High-Impact Absences

Although Brighton & Hove Albion, Crystal Palace, and Liverpool are only seeing one player each depart for 2025 AFCON, all three are losing particularly influential figures.

Liverpool: Salah’s Complex Situation

Mohamed Salah is arguably the biggest name participating at the tournament, heading to Morocco after a very public airing of his displeasure at how he’s been treated at Liverpool in recent weeks. After being the key man in their 2024-25 Premier League title triumph, Salah has operated in a more reduced role during the last month under Arne Slot.

His performance levels have noticeably dropped this season, but Salah has still been involved in seven of Liverpool’s Premier League goals and has the joint-most shot involvements (68, level with Mbeumo) among English top-flight players heading to 2025 AFCON.

Eight of those shot involvements came in Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Brighton at the weekend, when he assisted Hugo Ekitiké’s second goal. That contribution saw him reach 277 Premier League goal involvements for Liverpool, breaking the outright competition record by a player at a single club.

Crystal Palace: Sarr’s Return and Departure

Ismaïla Sarr made his return to Crystal Palace’s side in the weekend defeat to Manchester City following a short-term injury, but immediately heads off again for a month after being selected by Senegal. A key player for both club and country, Sarr (8 goals) trails only Jean-Philippe Mateta (9) for goals in all competitions this season at Palace.

Brighton: Baleba’s Defensive Presence

Carlos Baleba has played in all 16 of Brighton’s Premier League matches this season, after missing just four across the entirety of last season. A near-constant figure in deep-lying midfield for the Seagulls, no player at the club has made more interceptions than him (61) since the start of last season in the Premier League, while only Mats Wieffer (102) has made more tackles than the Cameroon international (97).

Six Clubs Unaffected: The Fortunate Few

Six clubs have been fortunate to not lose any players to 2025 AFCON, with the squads of Arsenal, Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Chelsea, Leeds United, and Newcastle United set to remain fully stocked throughout the festive period and January barring injuries and suspensions.

Bournemouth are arguably the most fortunate Premier League club, with Ghana’s failure to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations meaning the Cherries’ most influential player, Antoine Semenyo, remains with the side through December and January. Semenyo has been involved in 10 of Bournemouth’s goals this season in league competition (seven goals, three assists).

Amine Adli wasn’t called up by Morocco, and nor was Hamed Traoré for reigning champions Côte d’Ivoire, although the latter has played just 16 minutes of Premier League action for the club in 2025-26.

Yoane Wissa has been one of the most influential players for DR Congo in recent years, but despite finally making his Newcastle United debut earlier this month, his recovery from injury came too late to make their 2025 AFCON squad—a Christmas bonus for Eddie Howe.

Like Bournemouth, Tottenham will also be pleased Ghana didn’t qualify as it means they retain their top assist provider Mohammed Kudus. The former West Ham man has five assists in the Premier League this season, more than double any other Spurs player, while only Bruno Fernandes (7) and Rayan Cherki (6) have more in the entire division.

Looking Ahead: Tournament Duration and Impact

The potential duration of each club’s absences depends entirely on how far their players’ nations progress in the tournament. Teams whose players reach the January 18 final will face the longest disruption, potentially missing six or more Premier League fixtures during the crucial winter period.

For clubs like Sunderland fighting to establish themselves in the top flight, or Manchester United and Fulham chasing European qualification, these absences could prove decisive in determining their final league positions. The challenge is particularly acute given the fixture congestion, with limited time to recover between matches and restricted opportunities to integrate returning players.

Read More: Why Hugo Ekitiké Deserves to Be Liverpool’s First-Choice Striker Over Alexander Isak

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