European clubs set for tough January as stars head out for AFCON and Asian Cup

Teams across Europe will have to contend with the loss of key players including Mo Salah, Son Heung-min and Victor Osimhen

Tottenham's Son Heung-min (left) and Liverpool's Mo Salah (right) will be absent from Premier League for the next several weeks while on national team duty.
Tottenham's Son Heung-min (left) and Liverpool's Mo Salah (right) will be absent from Premier League for the next several weeks while on national team duty. | Clive Brunskill/GettyImages
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2024 promises to be another busy year in the football calendar with plenty of big international tournaments lined up.

It's the year of continental extravaganza starting with the African Cup of Nations (from Jan. 13 to Feb. 11) and the AFC Asian Cup (from Jan. 12 to Feb. 10).

As the nations prepare for their biennial and quadrennial challenge, respectively, clubs across Europe will be dealing with their absences for close to a month based on their run in the tournaments.

Plenty of European clubs are already on the hunt to add personnel to their ranks to mitigate the risk posed by the absence of these players.

Let's take a look at how Europe's top leagues will be dealing with player absences and which clubs will be affected the most.