2015 African Cup of Nations: How Chelsea, Palace, QPR, Tottenham and West Ham could be affected

14:11 10 September 2014

Brad Pinard

John Obi Mikel from Nigeria (Photo by Manus van Dyk / Gallo Images/Getty Images)

Qualification for the 2015 African Cup on Nations is underway, so we take a look at how the six London-based Premier League clubs will be affected by it.

The inconveniently scheduled competition will run from January 17 to February 8 in Morocco, meaning clubs could be missing their African players for up to a month.

At a pivotal time of the season, it’s easy to underestimate just how significant certain losses can be to a club. Here, we take a look at how the London sides could fare.

Arsenal

The Gunners are blessed with no departures in the new year which is a rare feat for Arsene Wenger who has lost the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor and Alex Song to previous tournaments. January has been around the time that the north London club fall away from the title race in recent years and so this could be a big boost for the Gunners in that sense.

Chelsea

The Blues have always used the African market well and once again are set to lose a few stars to the Nations Cup. John Obi Mikel of Nigeria and Mohamed Salah of Egypt will both be off to Morocco for the competition should their nations qualify, as expected. Fortunately for Jose Mourinho, Didier Drogba announced his international retirement this summer and so will not be in the Ivory Coast squad. Loan stars such as Victor Moses, Kenneth Omeruo and Christian Atsu look certain to be there too.

Crystal Palace

The Eagles face a tough task to get their season back on track and will lose vital first team players in the new year. Winger Yannick Bolasie is now a feature in the DR Congo squad and will be desperate to make the tournament with his country, along with striker Marouane Chamakh who was left out of the Morocco squad back in 2013. Chamakh and Bolasie are key men at Selhurst Park and will be a big loss to Neil Warnock’s side. Bit-part players Jimmy Kebe and Adlène Guedioura will both be hoping to make the Mali and Algeria squads respectively should they qualify.

QPR

Harry Redknapp has bemoaned his lack of strength in depth at Loftus Road and so he will not be pleased to lose two of his key men in January. Armand Traore will be hoping to break into the Senegal squad in time for the tournament if qualification is achieved and Adel Taarabt will be desperate to get back into the Morocco fold after missing out on the previous African Nations. No doubt Redknapp will already be eyeing January signings with these two possible departures in mind.

Tottenham

Mauricio Pochettino has started the season with just three strikers and come January he could be down to just two. Emmanuel Adebayor’s relationship with Togo is complicated but he is set to help them qualify and then take part in the African Nations come January. This will be a big loss for Spurs as their number one forward departs, leaving Roberto Soldado and Harry Kane as the only first team strikers. Nabil Bentaleb is another key man who could be off, with Algeria going from strength to strength on the international stage. Benoit Assou-Ekotto will not be missed however if he makes the Cameroon squad.

West Ham

The Hammers are going to be the most affected by January’s tournament with bona fide key players set to decimate their spine. Cheikhou Kouyate is already proving a hit with West Ham fans and he is set to be the main loss, with Senegal compatriot Diafra Sakho also hoping to be involved too if the Lions of Teranga qualify. Ivory Coast’s Guy Demel didn’t make the World Cup squad but is hoping to change that in January and Alex Song will be a key man for Cameroon. Potentially four big losses for the Hammers who could be in a battle at the wrong end of the table.