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Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim, has sounded an early alarm ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations, expressing concern over the potential loss of key players in December. His worries are particularly heightened due to the impressive partnership between Ivorian international Amad and Cameroonian forward Bryan Mbeumo on the right wing.
"We will have time to suffer," Amorim commented when discussing the duo. "We are going to struggle a little bit, but we already knew it's going to be an opportunity.
"When I watch the training, there are players that should be playing, but it's hard with one game to take some players from the team, because they are doing well also during the training in games. So other players are going to have the opportunity to help us.
"They are understanding the way we want to play, so if we are improving on that, the change of characteristics is not going to change the idea or the momentum of the team. But let's use Amad and Bryan in these games and we will see in general."
The Africa Cup of Nations kicks off on December 21, with players joining their national teams slightly earlier. With the final not scheduled until January 18, some clubs could be without their top players for up to a month, including Liverpool losing talisman Mohamed Salah.
Amad's recent goal against Nottingham Forest only underscores how much he might be missed. There are some notable absentees from the forthcoming AFCON, with Ghana being one of those missing out. This means that players such as Mohammed Kudus and Antoine Semenyo will remain with their clubs while other African stars jet off to Morocco for the tournament.
The impact will be felt more severely by some clubs than others. Arsenal won't experience any disruption, but it's a different tale for their title competitors. Manchester City will lose Rayan Ait-Nouri to the Algerian national team and Omar Marmoush to Egypt, while Liverpool star Salah is also expected to be part of Egypt's squad.
Bournemouth and Sunderland, both performing well, have representatives vying for a spot in host nation Morocco's squad, with Amine Adli and Chemsdine Talbi both called up during the October break. Talbi isn't Sunderland's only potential absentee, with Reinildo (Mozambique), Habib Diarra (Senegal), Simon Adingra (Cote d'Ivoire), Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso) and Arthur Masuaku and Noah Sadiki (both DR Congo) all qualifying and backup keeper Blondy Nna Noukeu an outside bet for the Cameroon squad.
Tottenham will keep Kudus in London but could potentially lose both Yves Bissouma (Mali) and Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal). United, as mentioned, will be without Amad and Mbeumo, while Noussair Mazraoui could be back in the Morocco picture after injury.
Chelsea have an opportunity to capitalise in December and January with no first-team players away at AFCON, while Aston Villa will only lose Ivorian international Evann Guessand. Crystal Palace could face a more challenging period, with Ismaila Sarr (Senegal) and Christantus Uche (Nigeria) both recently featuring for their national teams, while Cheick Doucoure (Mali) and Chadi Riad (Morocco) could still represent their countries if they recover from long-term injuries in time.
Brentford are bracing themselves for the loss of record signing Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso) and midfielder Frank Onyeka (Nigeria), as well as young goalkeeper Marley Tavaziva (Zimbabwe). They're not alone in potentially losing a big-money summer addition. Yoane Wissa (DR Congo) has yet to make his Newcastle debut but could be called up for international duty soon.
There's some good news for Brighton, with Yankuba Minteh's Gambia side failing to qualify, although Carlos Baleba is set to join his Cameroon team-mates. Everton striker Beto will also remain at home after Guinea-Bissau only finished third in their qualifying group, but Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye (both Senegal) and summer signing Adam Aznou (Morocco) may well be absent.
Leeds won't be losing any players to Morocco, but it's a different story for fellow newcomers Burnley. Axel Tuanzebe, a former England youth international, now plays for DR Congo at the international level, while Hannibal is in contention for Tunisia and Lyle Foster has been scoring goals for South Africa in their qualification campaign.
The final four clubs in the Premier League will experience varying impacts. Alex Iwobi (Nigeria) could be a significant loss for Fulham, with Calvin Bassey and Samuel Chukwueze also part of the last Super Eagles squad, although Nottingham Forest's ex-Fulham player Ola Aina might miss the tournament due to injury and Taiwo Awoniyi isn't a guaranteed selection for manager Eric Chelle.
Forest are still likely to lose Willy Boly and Ibrahim Sangare (both Cote d'Ivoire), while West Ham are bracing themselves for the absence of full-backs Aaron Wan-Bissaka (DR Congo) and El-Hadji Malick Diouf (Senegal). Lastly, Wolves could find themselves short of several players including Marshall Munetsi and Tawanda Chirewa (both Zimbabwe), Emmanuel Agbadou (Cote d'Ivoire), Tolu Arokodare (Nigeria) and Jackson Tchatchoua (Cameroon).
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