Super Eagles winger Samuel Chukwueze has been listed at the head of an impressive list of 11 players from the Spanish La Liga to feature in next month’s 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
Six sides in Spain’s top tier will have to manage AFCON-enforced absences, with Villarreal and Sevilla the hardest hit, noted top Spanish tabloid AS Marca.
Villarreal will be without four players including Aissa Mandi, Boulaye Dia, Serge Aurier and Samuel Chukwueze – while Sevilla will lose Bono, Munir El Haddadi, and Youssef En-Nesyri.
Alaves(Loum) , Barcelona (Abde), Cadiz (Akapo) and Real Mallorca(Baba) will all lose a player each.
Quipped Marca: “As is the case whenever AFCON comes around, a number of European clubs are left with their heads in their hands as they are set to lose several key players during an important phase of the season. There will be some relief that the Champions League won’t be impacted, as the knockout rounds don’t get underway until a week after AFCON ends.”
The tournament, which like the European Championship is being played a year later than originally scheduled, will run from January 9 until February 6, 2022.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
