Premier League clubs to miss key stars to AFCON, Asian Cup

Premier League Update: AFCON impacts, transfer window, and team struggles analyzed.

A host of players are departing to their national teams for AFCON and the Asian Cups repeatedly, how will their absence affect their respective teams? (Photo credit: GOAL)

Happy New Year! It’s a good time to remind us of a few things happening around us in the world of football, especially as it pertains to the English Premier League.

Arsenal went from being at the top of the table on Christmas Day to fourth on the log into the new year. Liverpool means business this time, and they have shown that over their last two games against Burnley and Newcastle. The Kops, however, will miss Mohammed Salah and Wataru Endo at the AFCON and the Asian Cup, respectively. How do they cope without their talismans?

Before we return to the Premier League, we’re hearing that former Manchester United golden boy Wayne Rooney has been fired at Birmingham. The former Derby County manager was sacked following a run of poor results, and in fact, he has only a 13% win rate as Birmingham City manager, poor to say the least.

Back to the Premier League, the transfer window is officially open, and, starting with Manchester United, it is important to wonder where they go from here considering how poor it ended for them. They have identified some players to welcome, but who are those players that need to leave?

Jadon Sancho doesn’t have a future at the club; there is no doubt about that, and he knows it as well, so where does he go from here? The club has hinted at the likely departure of Raphael Varane in the summer; he is not going to have his contract extended, and United needs to dive into the window to fix their leaking defense.

They do have a backup goalkeeper; will he be able to do a good job in the absence of Andre Onana? The Cameroonian is off to Ivory Coast for the Africa Cup of Nations; they will lose Amrabat as well, but the Moroccan is yet to make a real impact for them.

Arsenal? They have loads of headaches right now, with no real solutions in sight. Their performances in December left too much to be desired. Studying their home loss to West Ham and their meek defeat at Fulham should be done repeatedly. Takehiro Tomiyasu is off to the Asian Cup; they will miss him.

The city citizens have nothing to worry about. Erling Haaland isn’t back yet, but Kevin De Bruyne will play their next game. Is it time for them to go on that monstrous run of wins to tidy up the title? Liverpool is their real contender; they should be fine.

AFCON will hurt the trio of West Ham, who will lose Mohammed Kudus, Nayef Aguerd, and Said Benrahma; Brighton will be without Simon Adingra; Tottenham Hotspur will lose Heung Min Son to the Asian Cup; and the duo of Pape Mata Sarr and Yves Bissouma to AFCON; they will miss them too.