With the 2017 African Cup of Nations tournament fast approaching, Premier League clubs have to face the reality of losing some of their best players at what is often a key stage in the season.  Despite the Cup of Nations never being short of passion, heart or amazing displays, the host country of Gabon will play host to some of the world’s best players. However, once again the competition is not without controversy.
 

All but five clubs in England’s top flight will lose at least one player when the competition starts on the 14th January. Chelsea, Spurs, Swansea, West Brom and Man City will keep a full squad which could be pivotal come May. However, West Brom’s Allan Nyom and Liverpool’s Joel Matip have both refused to represent Cameroon. Both players have chosen to remain at their domestic clubs to focus on the second-half of the season which has unsurprisingly angered the Cameroon FA.


Nyom, 28, wants to keep his place in the first team and Matip, who has been a key player for Klopp’s Liverpool, did not want his season interrupted by playing in the tournament. However, the Cameroon FA has claimed that the 25-year-old German-born defender has had a bad experience with staff  on previous trips with the Indomitable Lions. 
 

This dispute seems unlikely to end, with the possibility of the players being banned from domestic games as a result. However, if they are to retire from international football, then a ban would be unlikely. As well as this, Klopp will have the nightmare of losing Sadio Mane to Senegal. The forward has scored 8 league goals for The Reds this season and is their top scorer. He also got the late (and by that I mean very late) winner in the Merseyside Derby on Monday night.  With Philippe Coutinho out injured, this could prove a crucial time for Jurgen Klopp and his rampant side who have only lost once in 14 league games. 

 

Another team who could suffer are champions Leicester City. Although this season has been very tough for them, it is not helped by Riyad Mahrez, Islam Slimani (both Algeria), Daniel Amrtey, Jeff Schlupp (Both Belgium) and Yohan Benalouane (Tunisia) all departing the King Power Stadium in January. It is the loss of their two Algerian stars which will hurt Ranieri the most and without them, Leicester could find themselves continuing to stave off the very real threat of relegation from the top-flight. With Jamie Vardy also suspended for The Foxes for the next three games, things are not looking good for the surprise package of 2016.

 

Champions League hopefuls Arsenal and Manchester United only lose one player each in Mohamed Elneny (Egypt) and Eric Bailly (Ivory Coast) respectively. However, some teams can take advantage of other clubs weaknesses during this time. One of these is certainly Chelsea, who look unbeatable in their current form. They will keep their squad intact and this can only pose as worrying news for the rest of the league as they are six points clear at the top and have not lost since being well beaten by Arsenal 3-0 back in September. 


 

It will also be a key time for Man City and Spurs also, as they look to catch up on Conte’s men and take advantage of Liverpool’s weakened side. Both sides will feel they have very winnable games coming up.