Report: Spurs’ PL rivals could be without up to 39 players during AFCON

As many as 39 players may be away representing their countries in the African Cup of Nations in January, including some London derbies involving Tottenham.

The AFCON is scheduled to take place between January 9 to February 7 at the start of next year.

Spurs do not have a single international from Africa in their squad at the moment following the departure of Ivory Coast captain Serge Aurier in the summer and will thus not be affected by the tournament.

The Lilywhites have two crucial London derbies against Arsenal and Chelsea on January 15 and January 22 respectively, and both of Spurs’ rivals will be without key men.

Livescore.com have revealed that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Thomas Partey, Nicolas Pepe and Mohamed Elneny will travel to Cameroon for AFCON and will thus be unavailable for the North London derby.

Meanwhile, the Blues will also be without goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, who will join up with the Senegal squad and Hakim Ziyech, who is set to join up with Morocco.

Tottenham are scheduled to face Southampton on February 10, just after the end of the tournament.

Depending on how far Ghana and Mali progress in the tournament, Mohammed Salisu and Moussa Djenepo could be in a race against time to feature for the Saints against Spurs.

The full list of 39 potential absent players is as follows:

Arsenal – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon), Thomas Partey (Ghana), Nicolas Pepe (Ivory Coast), Mohamed Elneny (Egypt)

Aston Villa – Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso), Trezeguet (Egypt), Marvelous Nakamba (Zimbabwe)

Brentford – Tariqe Fosu-Henry (Ghana), Frank Onyeka (Nigeria), Julian Jeanvier (Guinea)

Brighton – Yves Bissouma (Mali)

Burnley – Maxwel Cornet (Ivory Coast)

Chelsea – Edouard Mendy (Senegal), Hakim Ziyech (Morocco)

Crystal Palace – Wilfried Zaha (Ivory Coast), Jeffrey Schlupp (Ghana), Cheikhou Kouyate (Senegal), Jordan Ayew (Ghana)

Everton – Alex Iwobi (Nigeria), Jean-Philippe Gbamin (Ivory Coast)

Leicester – Wilfred Ndidi (Nigeria), Kelechi Iheanacho (Nigeria), Daniel Amartey (Ghana), Nampalys Mendy (Senegal)

Liverpool – Mohamed Salah (Egypt), Naby Keita (Guinea), Sadio Mane (Senegal)

Manchester City – Riyad Mahrez (Algeria)

Spurs Web Opinion

The fact that almost all of the big teams in the Premier League (except Spurs) will be losing key players to AFCON is a huge advantage to us.

Hopefully, we will be able to take full advantage against Arsenal and Chelsea, although getting a result at Stamford Bridge will not be easy even with Kepa Arrizabalaga in goal.

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