With the African Cup of Nations upon us, the Premier League's competition is in dim light.

Morocco is thousands of kilometers away from England, a considerable distance. However, a competition in Morocco could influence the competition in the English League next season. This is all possible because the Africa Cup will take place in Morocco from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026.

What is the connection between the biennial tournament and the English League? There is a significant one. English clubs frequently employ players from the African continent. Many of these players are required to leave to fulfill national duties in the middle of the season. One of them is Liverpool megastar Mohamed Salah.

Liverpool will only lose one player during the Africa Cup of Nations. However, that individual is the most important for "The Reds." As is known, Salah was the top contributor in goals (29) and assists (18) in the Premier League last season. Thanks to him, Liverpool was able to secure their 20th title.

It is a mistake if, having led the Egyptian national team to the final match, one potentially misses six league matches. Among these, there is the most crucial match against Arsenal in early January 2026. They will visit the rival's home ground, the Emirates Stadium, in London.

The issue is not limited to that. The team coached by Arne Slot is feared to be affected by the aftermath of the Africa Cup of Nations. In the last edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, early 2024, Salah had to return early from national duty due to a thigh injury. He was sidelined for five league matches.

Sadly, the player nicknamed the "King of Egypt" never returned to his best form for the remainder of the season. He only contributed three goals and one assist in the last 11 league matches. Liverpool, in the final season under manager Jurgen Klopp, gradually faded from the title race.

Sky Sports data further confirms this negative trend. Salah's performance has consistently declined drastically since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations in the last two editions. In 2022, his goal involvements dropped from once every 79 minutes to once every 132 minutes. His goal conversion rate plummeted from 21.5 percent to 8.2 percent.

The availability of Salah is also in question. Before the Africa Cup of Nations in 2022 and 2024, he was involved in 97 percent of Liverpool's total minutes. After representing Egypt, that availability has dropped below 70 percent. This issue will be even more pronounced this time as the forward is now 33 years old.

We could potentially lose Mo for six matches, but that is a significant number in the English League. Especially when considering his role last season.

Slot stated that the club has anticipated the worst-case scenario. They brought in wing-back Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen not only to fill the gap left by Trent Alexander-Arnold. Frimpong will be assigned as a backup for Salah in the winger position.

"We are certainly thinking about the Africa Cup. That is why we brought in Frimpong, who can play as a winger. We could potentially lose Mo for six matches, but that is a significant number in the English League. Especially when you consider his role last season," said Slot.

Manchester City, a competitor of Liverpool, also cannot rest easy. They will lose attacking midfielder Omar Marmoush (Egypt) and wing-back Rayan Ait-Nouri (Algeria). Both players are new assets for manager Pep Guardiola for the upcoming season.

The unluckiest club is Sunderland. They are recorded as the team with the highest number of players likely to participate in the Africa Cup of Nations, totaling seven individuals. Almost one-third of the team is at risk of leaving, including Simon Adingra (Ivory Coast), Habib Diarra (Senegal), and Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco).

Interestingly, five out of the seven players of the promoted team were recently brought in during this summer transfer window. Sunderland is consciously taking a risk. According to coach Regis Le Bris, these players are the best options available in the market.

"Obviously, we know (what can happen). At the same time, the market is the market. You can't always do what you want. Ultimately, we have a competitive squad. I think our squad depth will help in that situation," Le Bris told the Sunderland Echo.

Several clubs are quite fortunate as there are major countries that did not qualify for the final round of the Africa Cup of Nations, such as Ghana. There are three Ghanaian players who play significant roles in English clubs, namely Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth), Tariq Lamptey (Brighton), and Mohammed Kudus (Tottenham).

Arsenal, Aston Villa, Leeds United, and Newcastle United are the most fortunate. They do not have African players in their main squad. They should be able to take advantage of this situation to seize momentum from their competitors. (AP/REUTERS)