Best XI – PL Players Currently Starring In AFCON Including Legendary Red Mo Salah

David Tully

4 months ago

Categories: West Ham United News, West Ham United Transfer News

Tags: Arsenal, aston villa, Brentford, Brighton, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Sheffield United, Southampton, Spurs, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham, Wolves

There are 31 Premier League players who have joined up with their national teams for AFCON.

Some clubs have been more affected by the call-ups than others. Nottingham Forest have 6 stars on international duty, while the likes of Manchester City, Burnley and Newcastle United have nobody at the tournament.

In this post, we have decided to draw up a starting eleven using the list of players who are currently away with their countries at AFCON.

Press the next page as we pick what we believe is the best lineup.

Goalkeeper and Defence

GK – Andre Onana (Manchester United) – While the Manchester United no.1 has had a difficult start to life at Old Trafford, he is the only keeper from the Premier League playing at AFCON so he gets a place in this team by default.

RB – Ola Aina (Nottingham Forest) – The Nigerian has been a regular starter for Forest this season, and he edges out his club teammate Serge Aurier and Luton’s Issa Kabore for a position in our starting XI.

CB – Calvin Bassey (Fulham) – The Cottagers signed the defender from Ajax last summer and, while he has made some mistakes, he is impressed for the most part.

CB – Nayef Aguerd (West Ham) – Nottingham Forest’s Moussa Niakhate came under consideration but the Hammers have had a strong campaign so far, with Aguerd having played a key part in that.

LB – Rayan Ait-Nouri (Wolves) – There wasn’t much competition for the left-back slot. Fulham’s Fode Balle-Toure has hardly played this season, while Ait-Nouri has performed well for Wolves in both fullback and wingback positions.

Midfield

CM – Yves Bissouma (Tottenham) – Manchester United’s Sofyan Amrabat, Everton’s Idrissa Gueye, Nottingham Forest’s Ibrahima Sangare and Arsenal’s Mohamed Elneny are all with their respective countries at AFCON.

However, Bissouma has impressed in Spurs’s midfield this campaign. The Malian international did struggle somewhat after leaving Brighton in 2022, but he has firmly established himself as a regular starter following the arrival of Ange Postecoglou as manager.

CM – Pape Sarr (Tottenham) – The young Senegalese star has come on leaps and bounds over the past few months, and his partnership with Bissouma has helped Spurs dominate games in midfield.

AM – Alex Iwobi (Fulham) – Although the Nigerian has often been criticised for his lack of end product, he has looked impressive since swapping Everton for Craven Cottage last summer.

Attack

RW – Mo Salah (Liverpool) – It is no surprise that the Egyptian international makes the XI. He has won the African Footballer of the Year on two separate occasions, as well as being named runner-up twice.

Salah left Liverpool for AFCON as the Premier League’s joint-top scorer with 14 goals. The Reds will certainly miss his influence while he is away.

CF – Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea) – The 22-year-old’s first season at Stamford Bridge has been a mixed bag. There have been some disappointing displays but he has still scored 8 goals in 23 appearances for the Blues.

LW – Mohammed Kudus (West Ham) – The Hammers seem to have found themselves a gem in the Ghanaian. Since joining from Ajax in August, the forward has hit the back of the net 9 times in 24 matches.