As the January transfer window quickly approaches, many clubs will look to add new players to their squad hoping that at least these acquisitions can help them win some silverware. What many have forgotten is that another major tournament will be taking place for the entire month of January in the beautiful continent of Africa.
The Africa Cup of Nations which will take place in Angola from the 10th of January right through to the 31st will be a thorn in the flesh of many premiership coaches. Reason-most of them will have to make due without the services of their top players. Some of the teams that will lose out heavily are Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City.
Its obvious that Chelsea will be the most affected club by this tournament. Carlo Ancelotti is set to lose 5 regular players. Top scorer Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou, Micheal Essien and John Obi Mikel have already left the blues to link up with their national teams ahead of the January 10th opening match.
Arsenal will be without defenders Bacary Sagna and Emmanuel Eboue while Manchester City will have to survive without influential striker Emmanuel Adebayor defender Kolo Toure. Liverpool and Manchester United are the only teams among the top four who will be safe. It will be a golden opportunity for 2nd place Manchester United to close the gap on league leaders Chelsea.
Drogba’s departure will have the greatest impact on the blues. The Ivorian has scored an impressive 19 times for Chelsea this season and although Ancelotti states that his side can cope without Drgoba, I fail to see how. I am however tempted to say that Chelsea’s upcoming fixtures will be easy. With Hull, Sunderland, Birmingham and Burnely on the list, Ancelotti can rely on his sufficient squad to get the job done. We can only wait and see if Manchester United and Arsenal can take advantage of this opportunity.
