European clubs set for tough January as stars head out for AFCON and Asian Cup
![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.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3157,h_1775,x_0,y_231/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/GettyImages/mmsport/207/01hkwtccax7c51kab0f2.jpg)
Serie A (Italy)
There's no escaping the player exodus for AFCON and the Asian Cup for clubs in the Italian top flight. A total of 51 players will miss up to one month's action in Serie A. That includes last season's MVP and top scorer Victor Osimhen, who will lead Nigeria's charge in the AFCON.
The top two teams in the league, Inter and Juventus, will continue their charge to the title without losing any players to national commitments.
Here's a look at some of the key players who will leave for the Ivory Coast (AFCON) and Qatar (Asian Cup):
Club | Players Missing |
---|---|
Atalanta | Ademola Lookman (Nigeria), El Bilal Touré (Mali) |
AC Milan | Samuel Chukwueze (Nigeria), Ismaël Bennacer (Algeria) |
Lazio | Daichi Kamada (Japan) |
Napoli | Victor Osimhen (Nigeria), Andre Frank Zambo-Anguissa (Cameroon) |
Roma | Evan N'Dicka (Ivory Coast), Houssem Aouar (Algeria), Serdar Azmoun (Iran) |