It’s that time of the football calendar again as the transfer window opens and fans everywhere find themselves clamouring for winter reinforcements. This year, there are added dynamics too as some of the world’s best players assemble in Qatar and the Ivory Coast to battle it out for international honours at the AFCON.
So, who’s missing and which teams, in the Premier League and across Europe, are set to be impacted the most?
Premier League
In the title race, it is surely Liverpool who are affected the most. They will be without star man Mohamed Salah as well as Wataru Endo. Although the Egyptian’s goalscoring will certainly be missed the most, Endo has gradually established himself as a reliable backup option in Jurgen Klopp’s side and that vital lack of depth could prove problematic if an injury crisis were to arise.
Arsenal and Manchester City are relatively untouched with the Gunners losing just Elneny and Tomiyasu while the defending champions will be completely unaffected.
2023’s surprise package Aston Villa is also only one man down as Bertrand Traoré travels with his Burkina Faso side to the AFCON. The midfielder has been an important player in the past but featured only twice in the league this season.
Tottenham Hotspur are the other major players to be severely affected as their lack of depth will worsen even further in the absence of Heung-min Son, Yves Bissouma, and Pape Matar Sarr. Without reinforcements in January, they could find themselves facing a slide similar to the start of December when they lost multiple players in different positions to injury.
At the other end of the table, it is Nottingham Forest who are perhaps the worst affected of anyone. They are missing six players, almost all of whom have played crucial roles at times so far this season. The lack of Aina, Aurier, Boly, Kouyate, Niakhate, and Sangare could prove catastrophic for Steve Cooper and it is hard to see any kind of significant spending in January, such have been their outlays since joining the Premier League two summers ago.
Manchester United will be without first-choice goalkeeper Andre Onana as he seemed to (sort-of?) resolve his disputes with Cameroon’s FA chief Samuel Eto. The pair still aren’t speaking but Onana will travel to the tournament.
The final star names missing include Wolves’ Hwang Hee-chan, whose ten goals have been key to his side’s attacking output this season, West Ham’s Mohammed Kudus, and Brighton’s Karou Mitoma.
Serie A
Italian football is similarly affected, especially by AFCON. Atalanta will be without one of their star men, Ademola Lookman, whose seven league goals and three assists have been key to their campaign so far.
Whilst title challengers Inter and Juventus find themselves completely undented by the two tournaments, things could go from bad to worse for both AC Milan and Napoli. Both sides have disappointed so far this season and whilst the Milaneses will be without Bennacer and Chukwueze, Napoli’s Victor Osimhen will surely be the most sorely missed alongside teammate Anguissa.
Jose Mourinho’s Roma will lose three first-team players and most significantly Houssem Aouar whilst Salernitana’s six absentees are more than any other Serie A side.
La Liga
Spanish football finds itself comparatively unaffected with just 22 players out in total as a result of AFCON. The Asian Cup has even less of an effect with Takefusa Kubo the only player in the league heading to Qatar as things stand.
He will be hugely missed by Real Sociedad though and has undoubtedly been one of the stand-out players in the league this season with six goals and three assists. Depending on Japan’s progress, he may even miss their crunch Champions League knock-out game against PSG.
Bundesliga
Germany’s top division has seen 24 of its players selected for AFCON and eight for the Asian Cup. Leverkusen are hardest hit as they lose five players including Victor Boniface who has been a revelation in the team’s league-topping defence this season.
Elsewhere, Stuttgart will be missing 17-goal man Serhou Guirassy as they look to maintain their push for a surprise Champions League spot as well as Genki Haraguchi in midfield.
The other major sides will be left largely unaffected with Dortmund and Bayern missing just a few major players each and South Korea’s Kim Min-jae undoubtedly the most significant.
Ligue 1
Finally, to France which is sending a staggering 56 players to AFCON alone. Saint-Etienne are perhaps worst off as they are set to lose Wahbi Khazri (Tunisia), Denis Bouanga (Gabon), Harold Moukoudi, Yvan Neyou(Cameroon) and Saïdou Sow (Guinea) who have scored a combined 71% of their team’s goals so far this season.
Lyon’s quest to turn around their season will be hampered by the lack of Tino Kadewere, Islam Slimani, and Karl Toko Ekambi. PSG will lose Diallo, Gueye, and Hakimi.
The Asian Cup will be what affects Will Still’s Reims most with both of their Japanese wingers, Junya Ito and Keito Nakamura, headed to Qatar. Monaco will lose Takumi Minamino and PSG Kangin-Lee in the same tournament.
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The start of 2024 then, could be a defining moment for title races across Europe with some of the leading clubs from the continent’s top five leagues left reckoning with the prospect of mass departures and the inherent recruitment challenges of a January transfer window.
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Salah will be a huge miss for Liverpool