The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) culminated in sensationally chaotic fashion on Sunday night, with Senegal eventually emerging victorious following an extra-time win over hosts Morocco.
A day earlier, Nigeria had defeated Egypt in the third/fourth-place play-off.
For Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers, the end of AFCON means the return of the remaining Premier League players who’ve been away in Morocco.
THE 14 RETURNING PLAYERS
19 of the 33 players who had been away with their countries came back to the UK ahead of Gameweek 22 (or earlier).
Now, the other 14 should be available come Gameweek 23.
Here is a club-by-club guide:
| Team | Player (Country) | AFCON starts (sub apps) | Total mins |
|---|---|---|---|
| BRENTFORD | Frank Onyeka (Nigeria) | 4 (0) | 352 |
| C PALACE | Ismaila Sarr (Senegal) | 3 (2) | 269 |
| EVERTON | Idrissa Gueye (Senegal) | 7 (0) | 660 |
| Iliman Ndiaye (Senegal) | 6 (0) | 441 | |
| FULHAM | Calvin Bassey (Nigeria) | 6 (0) | 527 |
| Alex Iwobi (Nigeria) | 5 (1) | 537 | |
| Samuel Chukwueze (Nigeria) | 3 (2) | 245 | |
| LIVERPOOL | Mohamed Salah (Egypt) | 6 (0) | 601 |
| MAN CITY | Omar Marmoush (Egypt) | 5 (1) | 497 |
| MAN UTD | Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco) | 7 (0) | 629 |
| SUNDERLAND | Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco) | 0 (1) | 16 |
| Habib Diarra (Senegal) | 3 (1) | 226 | |
| TOTTENHAM | Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal) | 1 (0) | 81 |
| WEST HAM | El Hadji Malick Diouf (Senegal) | 4 (1) | 413 |
Data from WhoScored
ANALYSIS
SALAH’S RETURN
Mohamed Salah‘s (£14.0m) return is perhaps the most keenly anticipated. How do the Liverpool legend and Arne Slot proceed after December’s bunfight? They seemed to depart on good terms, with Slot saying there was now “no issue” after Gameweek 16, although the Egyptian was again only on the bench for his final pre-AFCON league game. He hasn’t started a Premier League match since November. And will Slot really consider a defensively iffy right flank of him and Jeremie Frimpong (£5.8m), given the more cautious mindset of recent months? It might be one or the other in most matches.
Nevertheless, it’s another body to add to the Liverpool attack rotation mix. We could even see a return of the 4-4-2 diamond, with Salah and Hugo Ekitike (£8.9m) up top, which Slot used to great effect at the San Siro in mid-December.
Salah also returns to the penalty-taking conversation (if/when he gets on the field!), following Dominik Szoboszlai‘s (£6.6m) miss from the spot in Gameweek 22.
“[He’ll be available] next week. We’re in talks with him, what is expected of him over there and what we expect over here.
“[Champions League availability] is something we are talking about together now.” – Arne Slot on Mohamed Salah, speaking last Friday
A CHANCE TO REST HAALAND?
Omar Marmoush (£8.3m) returns to Manchester City now, too.
This is an intriguing one, as Erling Haaland (£15.1m) has hit a bit of a wall of late. The Norwegian has scored only one goal in his last seven matches in all competitions, and even that was a penalty.
Just last week, Pep Guardiola said this about Haaland:
“Hopefully, Omar comes back soon to give rest to Erling because Erling is exhausted and we need this kind of stuff.” – Pep Guardiola
The hope, from an FPL owners’ perspective, will be that Marmoush can alleviate some of the burden in cup games. Two very winnable midweek Champions League matches, the second leg of an EFL Cup semi-final in which City are 2-0 up, and an FA Cup fourth-round tie against Salford City or Swindon Town are all coming up over the next month.
The Egyptian is encouragingly in the travelling squad for Tuesday’s clash with Bodo/Glimt, so a start is possible in Norway. Marmoush has had some breathers in Morocco: a half-time withdrawal in Matchday 2, a complete rest in Matchday 3 and then a half-hour cameo in Saturday’s bronze medal match.
SQUAD BOOSTS FOR EVERTON, FULHAM + SUNDERLAND
Everton get a much-needed boost with the return of Idrissa Gana Gueye (£5.4m) and Iliman Ndiaye (£6.2m). One of Harrison Armstrong (£4.5m) or Merlin Rohl (£5.0m) likely makes way for Gueye, with Ndiaye set to come straight back in for Dwight McNeil (£5.5m) on the right.
Three Fulham players are also back: Calvin Bassey (£4.4m), Alex Iwobi (£6.3m) and Samuel Chukwueze (£5.3m). Bassey and Iwobi were regular starters before their departure, although Jorge Cuenca (£4.3m) has impressed in the former’s absence. Weekend injuries might dictate where the versatile Iwobi comes back in (central midfield, left wing or in the ’10’?). As for left-winger Chukwueze, he’d just cracked the Fulham XI before his mid-December exit, delivering five returns in as many Gameweeks.
The team hardest hit by AFCON absences, Sunderland, get two more bodies back in Gameweek 23. The Mackems haven’t been able to name central midfielder Habib Diarra (£5.3m) in a starting XI since Gameweek 4 due to injury and international duty but he was a regular in the opening month of the season. He could also take Sunderland’s next penalty, given what Enzo Le Fee (£4.9m) – who fluffed a ‘panenka’ in Gameweek 21 – said in August. Chemsdine Talbi (£4.9m) adds to the wide-midfield options, and the left flank is where Le Fee could end up with Diarra back in the engine room.
ROUNDING UP THE REST
Some rare good news for Crystal Palace fans after Friday’s bombshells: Ismaila Sarr (£6.3m) is back. He wasn’t overworked in Morocco, either, starting just three of Senegal’s seven matches. He’ll compete with Brennan Johnson (£6.5m) and Yeremy Pino (£5.8m) in a three-way battle for the ‘dual 10’ roles but could he even be an option up top if Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m) leaves?
Elsewhere, Noussair Mazraoui (£4.9m) returns to Manchester United to give Michael Carrick an alternative to Diogo Dalot (£4.5m) at right-back. A cut-price El Hadji Malick Diouf (£4.0m) is also back at West Ham United to challenge Ollie Scarles (£4.3m).
Pape Matar Sarr (£4.5m) may get a game-time boost at Spurs in the short term, meanwhile. Bodies are dropping like flies in midfield.
Few column inches are needed for Brentford’s Frank Onyeka (£4.8m), who hasn’t started a Premier League game since 2023/24.
