Perhaps worst hit will be Newcastle United, who lose Papiss Cisse and Demba Ba. Cisse of course they have only just bought, but Ba’s goals have been vital for the Magpies this season. His goals have propelled Alan Pardew’s men forward, and the North East side will miss him whilst he is in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon for the next month.
Also going away with Senegal along with Ba and Cisse, is QPR’s Armand Traore. He will return to find that Taye Taiwo, whose Nigeria failed to qualify for the tournament, has taken his place at QPR at left back. A bigger miss will be for Wigan with Mohamed Diamé also with the Senegalese at the tournament .He has been one of Wigan’s unsung players in recent times, and his performances have been key. Guirane N’Daw is the least well known of those departing, and the Birmingham City man will look to bring back some silverware, to give him a break from Championship action.
The Ivory Coast are the team who take the most English based players to the tournament though, and Chelsea will be without experienced duo Salomon Kalou and Didier Drogba. Both have found themselves on the fringes at Stamford Bridge though this season, and Drogba seems set to leave sooner rather than later. Kalou may depart as well, and Chelsea will not miss their African contingent the way they once did.
Arsenal and Manchester City will be hit harder. Gervinho is with the Ivory Coast, and though the winger has been derided for his wastefulness in the final third, he has given Arsenal width and supplied a number of goals for Robin van Persie this season so far. He will be missed. As will the Touré brothers at Manchester City, without Vincent Kompany right now, meaning Kolo can’t deputise. Yaya is the better brother though, and he will be badly missed by Manchester City as they look to continue their title charge.
Newcastle will be hard hit again, with Cheick Tioté also with the Ivorians as they look to win their maiden African Cup of Nations crown. And Sol Bamba will pose Leicester City a problem; as he spends a month away from England. Leicester are also missing John Paintsil, who will be with Ghana.
The final two English based players at the tournament are Adel Taraabt and Marouane Chamakh. Taraabt was key for QPR last season as they won promotion but has been anonymous for much of this campaign, and he could well leave by the end of the transfer window anyway. As could Chamakh, who is wanted by former club Bordeaux. The forward has been poor for Arsenal for the last year, and his club are unlikely to feel his absence as much as Gervinho’s.
Arsenal though, will be delighted that Alex Song is not away, as his country Cameroon failed to make it to the competition. Tottenham will also be glad of their absence, as it means they have Benoit Assou Ekotto for the next month. Nigeria also failed to make it, meaning Yakubu stays with Blackburn during their relegation battle. The least affected will be Manchester United and Liverpool, without African players – probably because of the effect it has when they leave for a month midway through the season for international duty.
