How Chelsea, Arsenal & Liverpool's transfer plans will change with AFCON postponement

James Shearman

• Updated: 15 Dec 2021 15:55 GMT
• 3 min read

The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is set to be called off amid worries over the Omicron variant of Covid 19.

The January tournament, to be hosted by Cameroon, was initially scheduled to take place in 2020 but now faces another postponement, as first reported by El Balad's Ismael Mahmoud in Egypt.

Approximately 40 Premier League players had planned to leave their clubs to compete, leaving England after the Boxing Day round of fixtures.

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Some teams had been working to delay the release of their key players, but now it appears they won't be losing them for any amount of time.

And this could have a drastic effect on the January transfer window.

Who's plans for the January window plans have changed?

Liverpool

Arguably the most concerned about the competition, Jurgen Klopp will be thrilled to hear that star men Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are to remain at Anfield throughout January.

The Reds are involved in a close title race with Manchester City and Chelsea, and the loss of two of their finest goalscoring threats could have meant dropping crucial points.

To counteract the pair's absence, Liverpool may have looked to bring in another forward option, something that is completely unnecessary now.

Salah, in particular, has been in outstanding form, scoring more than both Norwich City and Wolves so far in the Premier League.

Chelsea

Fellow title contenders Chelsea were set to lose world-class goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and attacking midfielder Hakim Ziyech.

The Blues are well-equipped in attacking areas, so the loss of the Moroccan wouldn't have been too hard felt.

However, the absence of Mendy had the potential to completely derail manager Thomas Tuchel's ambitions of following up Champions League glory with domestic success.

Chelsea's back-up, Kepa Arrizabalaga, has been proven to struggle with the pressure of being the 'number one'.

Instead, the Spaniard can be sold next month should the right offer arise, as he seeks regular playing time.

Arsenal

Besides Liverpool, Arsenal had the biggest cause for concern over AFCON taking place midway through the season.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Nicolas Pepe, Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny were expected to head off to Cameroon, leaving head coach Mikel Arteta with an extremely thin squad to work with.

However, there could well be another advantage of the tournament's postponement.

Aubameyang, the club's former captain, has recently fallen out with Arteta over disciplinary issues and now it seems as though he has no place in the 39-year-old's plans.

Selling the Gabon international has been made much easier as he will be available in January to negotiate with other clubs, rather than busy representing his country.