The Africa Cup of Nations is back this December and January, with the continent's very best set to battle it out in Morocco as they aim to take Cote d'Ivoire's crown after their unlikely victory at the start of 2024. AFCON's prestige, drama and quality remains up there with the Euros and Copa America, but the downside for European clubs is it's another tournament which falls slap bang in the middle of their seasonal calendar, meaning most teams will be losing players for up to a month.

The Premier League's growth to become a truly global competition means all but three teams - Arsenal, Chelsea and Leeds United - will be affected, though some will feel the pinch a bit more than others.

We at GOAL have ranked the remaining 17 clubs based on whose prospects of a successful season will most be damaged by players leaving for AFCON. Let's dive in...

Aston Villa

Number of absentees: 1 - Evann Guessand (Cote d'Ivoire)

Arriving from Nice as one of Ligue 1's most exciting forwards this summer, Evann Guessand hasn't quite hit the ground running at Aston Villa, scoring once in 15 games for his new club. Thus, his absence this winter shouldn't really be to the detriment of Unai Emery, who has plenty of other forwards capable of finding the net to rely upon.

Newcastle

Number of absentees: 1 - Yoane Wissa (DR Congo)

As is the case with Guessand at Villa, Yoane Wissa hasn't impressed for his new club yet. In fact, he hasn't even played a single minute for them at the time of writing. After missing part of Brentford's pre-season campaign to force through a move to Newcastle, the striker picked up an injury on duty with DR Congo and hasn't been fit since. He's expected to recover in time for AFCON and make his long-awaited Magpies debut in the near future.

Why do Newcastle rank above Villa then? Because Eddie Howe could seriously do with another source of goals, and the availability of their ?55 million ($72.5m) attacker would be nice.

Bournemouth

Number of absentees: 1 - Amine Adli (Morocco)

Another team with only one player departing in December, Bournemouth's thin squad becomes tested at the first sign of absence. Amine Adli, a Bundesliga title winner with Bayer Leverkusen, is yet to win the full trust of Andoni Iraola, but the Cherries' high intensity means they need to count on every first-team player, and they will need to find someone to replace those minutes. In better news for Bournemouth, Antoine Semenyo won't be going anywhere as Ghana somehow failed to qualify for the finals.

Manchester City

Number of absentees: 2 - Omar Marmoush (Egypt), Rayan Ait-Nouri (Algeria)

If this were a list ranking teams by how much individual quality each team will lose for AFCON, then clearly Manchester City would be towards the very top. Yet, such are the riches of depth in Pep Guardiola's squad, they will barely be troubled by Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri's exits, especially given the Catalan manager has openly reiterated his desire to trim down his roster.

Marmoush has missed much of this season with a knee injury, while Ait-Nouri has been sidelined with an ankle injury after joining from Wolves. City will probably be just fine.

Tottenham

Number of absentees: 1-2 - Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal), Yves Bissouma (Mali)

One of the players to have improved most under Thomas Frank at Tottenham is Pape Matar Sarr, who has continually proven one of their key men when given the nod over the more senior duo of Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur.

Yves Bissouma, meanwhile, is yet to make an appearance in the Frank era and is on his way back from a knee injury. Should he return in the next month, he'll undoubtedly be whisked straight into action with Mali. Ghana's absence from the tournament means summer signing Mohammed Kudus will, however, definitely remain at Spurs through the winter.

Brighton

Number of absentees: 1 - Carlos Baleba (Cameroon)

Back to another club with only one player to set go to AFCON, but with more increasing importance as we work our way up this list. In another life, Carlos Baleba would have joined Manchester United this summer, but Brighton were not interested in sanctioning a sale. His form has since nosedived this season, but given the Red Devils are still keen on Baleba given his outrageous potential, he will be fairly difficult for the Seagulls to do without.

Brentford

Number of absentees: 2 - Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso), Frank Onyeka (Nigeria)

A summer of mass change left many believing Brentford would struggle in the fight against relegation this term. Keith Andrews clearly took that personally and his Bees are flying. However, they will face a challenge without being able to call upon ?42.5m ($56m) winger Dango Ouattara, who has been a massive hit after joining from Bournemouth, as well as midfielder Frank Onyeka.

West Ham

Number of absentees: 2 - Aaron Wan-Bissaka (DR Congo), El Hadji Malick Diouf (Senegal)

West Ham are in their own fight to beat the drop and have been rejuvenated with the appointment of Nuno Espirito Santo as manager. But the Portuguese boss is facing some significant squad upheaval during the four weeks of AFCON. First-choice full-backs Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf will both be jetting off to Morocco for the tournament, limiting Nuno's options to shore up a far from fearless defence.

Liverpool

Number of absentees: 1 - Mohamed Salah (Egypt)

No club will be impacted more by losing a single player than Liverpool and Mohamed Salah. Sure, he hasn't been firing on all cylinders for a struggling Reds side this season, and this may even be the opportune time to trial a frontline for the future without him, but the 'Egyptian King' still reigns at Anfield and they will be losing one of the world's most fearsome goal threats.

There was talk before the season started about Jeremie Frimpong being bumped up to right wing to make up for Salah's absence, but that would clearly represent a massive downgrade no matter which way you spin it.

Crystal Palace

Number of absentees: 3-4 - Ismaila Sarr (Senegal), Christantus Uche (Nigeria), Chadi Riad (Morocco), Cheick Doucoure (Mali)

Though Jean-Philippe Mateta, Marc Guehi and Adam Wharton are Crystal Palace's star attractions nowadays, they would be a far worse team if they didn't have Ismaila Sarr, who has already contributed eight goals and two assists in 16 games across all competitions heading into the November international break.

Once more, Senegal's tag as a team likely to go all the way means the Eagles could be without Sarr for a month. That's already a scary prospect as is, but when you consider how small Oliver Glasner's squad already is and that they will have European and cup commitments to tend to in that span, it could become a nightmare pretty quickly.

Beyond Sarr, squad players Christantus Uche and Chadi Riad could receive call-ups, though Cheick Doucoure is likely to miss the tournament through injury.

Nottingham Forest

Number of absentees: 3-4 - Ibrahim Sangare, Willy Boly (both Cote d'Ivoire), Taiwo Awoniyi, Ola Aina (both Nigeria)

Few would have predicted last season's surprise package Nottingham Forest being in a relegation scrap this time around, but that's the situation they find themselves in at the City Ground. Sean Dyche, their third manager already this term, is also tasked with getting their Europa League campaign back on track.

It's a shame for Forest, then, that they could lose up to four players, including two key starters, for AFCON. Ibrahim Sangare is now a trusted midfield option, though Ola Aina's participation with Nigeria will depend on his injury recovery having missed several months with a hamstring issue. Willy Boly and Taiwo Awoniyi aren't regular starters, but competing in Europe means Forest will feel the pinch once they can no longer be selected.

Burnley

Number of absentees: 3 - Lyle Foster (South Africa), Axel Tuanzebe (DR Congo), Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia)

To Burnley's credit, they have half a chance of beating the drop this season. They are not the team marooned to the foot of the Premier League table and have picked up some respectable results on their return to the top-flight.

Tough times could be coming, however. Striker Lyle Foster is likely to be involved at AFCON, as are ex-Manchester United duo Axel Tuanzebe and Hannibal Mejbri. Perhaps the silver lining for Scott Parker is that this trio all play in different positions, so his squad won't feel completely depleted in one area.

Fulham

Number of absentees: 3 - Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey, Samuel Chukwueze (all Nigeria)

A summer of transfer malpractice has seen a consistently mid-table side in Fulham become embroiled in a relegation scrap this season. Marco Silva's future is already in jeopardy, so he'll be delighted to know he'll be losing some of his best players over the next couple of months. Alex Iwobi, one of the most underrated players in the Premier League, will join Calvin Bassey and Samuel Chukwueze for Nigeria's AFCON campaign, with the Super Eagles looking to end their run of 13 years without a continental trophy.

Everton

Number of absentees: 3 - Iliman Ndiaye, Idrissa Gueye (both Senegal), Adam Aznou (Morocco)

David Moyes will be sad to see the back of two Senegalese midfielders who provide very different qualities. Iliman Ndiaye, or 'Skilly-man' to the kids, has run Everton's attack ever since he joined the club in 2024 and is now recognised as one of the Premier League's best players outside the 'Big Six'. Meanwhile, veteran anchor Idrissa Gueye has long ensured that the Toffees don't give up too many chances through the middle of the pitch and his absence will surely be felt off the ball.

Adam Aznou is also a contender to feature for hosts Morocco, though he hasn't played for Everton since signing from Bayern Munich back in July. If anything, getting minutes at AFCON could prove valuable at setting up the second half of the teenager's debut season at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Wolves

Number of absentees: 5 - Marshall Munetsi, Tawanda Chirewa (both Zimbabwe), Tolu Arokodare (Nigeria), Emmanuel Agbadou (Cote d'Ivoire), Jackson Tchatchoua (Cameroon)

Long gone are the days of Wolves boasting elite-level talent such as Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho, while their Premier League status is now under serious threat after a dreadful start to the season. New manager Rob Edwards is expected to lose up to five players this winter, including one of Micah Richards' favourite players in box-to-box midfielder Marshall Munetsi, so reports suggesting a busy January transfer window may need to be accurate if they're to somehow avoid relegation to the Championship.

Manchester United

Number of absentees: 3 - Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon), Amad Diallo (Cote d'Ivoire), Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco)

Ruben Amorim must surely have benefitted from having extra time on the training pitch with his Manchester United players so far this season, with his side not competing in Europe and having been dumped out of the Carabao Cup in the second round back in August. There is less of a strain on his squad, but there soon will be a challenge to contend with.

United are in line to lose the entire right-hand side of their starting XI, with versatile defender Noussair Mazraoui, winger turned wing-back Amad Diallo and star forward Bryan Mbeumo all likely to headline AFCON for their respective nations. The build-up to the tournament is already on the agenda at Old Trafford, too, with United keen to avoid another club-vs-country row with Mbeumo's Cameroon following previous discretions over Andre Onana. Amorim will thus hope to keep Mbeumo in England right up until the tournament's start on December 21.

Sunderland

Number of absentees: 7 - Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco), Reinildo (Mozambique), Habib Diarra (Senegal), Simon Adingra (Cote d'Ivoire), Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso), Arthur Masuaku, Noah Sadiki (both DR Congo)

Sunderland's incredible transformation has been among the most fun storylines of this Premier League campaign. The Black Cats were only promoted back to the top tier by the skin of their teeth in May, edging out Sheffield United in a dramatic play-off final that was decided with the last kick of the match. Now, there is talk of them competing for a place in Europe.

The real test of those credentials will come from December to January, with head coach Regis Le Bris set to forfeit seven star players to AFCON, including exciting winger Chemsdine Talbi, who scored their winner at Chelsea, and Granit Xhaka's reliable midfield partner Noah Sadiki. If Sunderland can maintain their form throughout the winter, however, they will indeed be seen as the real deal. (GOAL)

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