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A total of seven Nigerian players has been cited among the array of African players set to leave clubs in the English Premier League for action with their countries in their continent’s forthcoming soccer showpiece, megasportsarena.com reports.
With action set to start at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon on January 9, just two weeks now lie between the players and their various absences from clubs in England’s top-flight league, thereby leaving many of the teams apprehensive.
A survey by Yahoo Sports has identified seven players who are likely to leave their clubs in the EPL to team up with the Super Eagles, but facts on ground show that one of the septet mentioned, Peter Oghenekaro Etebo from Watford, has been ruled out due to injury.
However, his teammates at The Hornets, William Troost-Ekong and Emmanuel Dennis Bonaventure look good to make the cut of 28 players in the Super Eagles’ final squad list, the the former has shown shaky form of recent in central defence, while the latter has not become an integral member of the squad just yet.
The scenario if different from three other players, as Alex Iwobi is a sure bet to leave Goodison Park, where he stars for Everton, and storm the Eagles’ preparatory camp this next week, while Leicester City holding midfielder, Wilfred Onyinyen Ndidi is also certain to be among the numbers.
Incidentally, Ndidi’s teammate at The Foxes, Kelechi Iheanacho will storm the Eagles’ camp with high hopes and make up for missing out on the last squad that won bronze in Egypt early last year, while Frank Ogochukwu Onyeka will leave Brentford Town in search of his debut at the African soccer spree.
The seven Nigerian lads are now cited among the lot that many EPL clubs are not so happy to let go, especially with fears over the covid-19 variant, omicron, spreading like wild fire, and that is the focus of a report by Yahoo Sports writer, Sarah Rendell.
The report by Rendell stated in part: “The Africa Cup of Nations is due to start in January, despite earlier doubts over whether it would go ahead due to the surge in Covid cases.
“The tournament has already been postponed twice but Cameroon are now set to play hosts next month, meaning Premier League clubs will be left without several stars for varying lengths of time, depending on when call-ups are enforced and how long nations stay involved for.
“The tournament is due to begin on 9 January with the group stage which will run until 20 January. The round of 16 will then take place from 23-26 January, with quarter-finals on 29-30 January, semis on 2-3 February and the final on 6 February.”
The Full List Of AFCON’s English Premier League Stars
Arsenal: Thomas Partey (Ghana), Mohamed Elneny (Egypt), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon), Nicolas Pepe (Ivory Coast).
Aston Villa: Trezeguet (Egypt), Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso), Marvelous Nakamba (Zimbabwe).
Brentford: Julian Jeanvier (Guinea), Frank Onyeka (Nigeria), Tarique Fosu-Henry (Ghana).
Brighton: Yves Bissouma (Mali).
Burnley: Maxwel Cornet (Ivory Coast).
Chelsea: Edouard Mendy (Senegal) and Hakim Ziyech (Morocco).
Crystal Palace: Cheikhou Kouyate (Senegal), Jeffrey Schlupp (Ghana), Jordan Ayew (Ghana), Wilfried Zaha (Ivory Coast).
Everton: Jean-Philippe Gbamin (Ivory Coast) and Alex Iwobi (Nigeria).
Leicester: Daniel Amartey (Ghana), Nampalys Mendy (Senegal), Wilfred Ndidi (Nigeria), Kelechi Iheanacho (Nigeria).
Liverpool: Mohamed Salah (Egypt), Naby Keita (Guinea), Sadio Mane (Senegal).
Manchester City: Riyad Mahrez (Algeria).
Manchester United: Eric Bailly (Ivory Coast), Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast).
Southampton: Moussa Djenepo (Mali), Mohammed Salisu (Ghana).
Watford: Peter Etebo (Nigeria), William Troost-Ekong (Nigeria), Adam Masina (Morocco), Ismaila Sarr (Senegal), Emmanuel Dennis (Nigeria).West Ham: Said Benrahma (Algeria).
Wolves: Romain Saiss (Morocco), Willy Boly (Ivory Coast).
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