The 2017 African Cup of Nations will kick off in Gabon on Saturday 14th January with 16 countries competing in the competition. As things currently stand Ivory Coast and Senegal are the favourites for the title, with the final set to take place on Sunday 5th February.

The major shock at AFCON so far is that three-time winners Nigeria have failed to qualify for the finals, after losing their group to Egypt. With the squads set to be announced fairly soon, just what kind of an impact will it have on the Premier League?

Based on recent call ups, the teams who could be set to lose the most amount of players are: Leicester (5- Islam Slimani, Riyad Mahrez, Jeffrey Schlupp, Yohan Benalouane, Daniel Amartey), Everton (4 – Yannick Bolasie, Idrissa Gueye, Oumar Niasse, Arouna Kone), Sunderland (4 – Lamine Kone, Wahbi Khazri, Didier Ndong, Papy Djilobodji) and West Ham (4 – Andre Ayew, Sofiane Feghouli, Cheikou Kouyate, Diafra Sakho).

This is bad news for these top-flight teams, with their African players expected to miss up to a month of domestic action, which will include four rounds of league fixtures. Burnley, Chelsea, Manchester City, Middlesbrough, Swansea and Tottenham should all remain unaffected. Here are five Premier League players who should definitely be getting a call up to the African Cup of Nations…

Nordin Amrabat (Morocco)

Watford’s Nordin Amrobat is more than likely to receive a call-up to the Moroccan national side having already featured 32 times for his country, scoring four goals. The Dutch-born winger will link up with Southampton’s Soufiane Boufal and will face Libya, Cape Verde and Sao Tome & Principe.

Amrabat joined Watford in the summer from Spanish side Malaga for around £7million and has featured in 10 of the 11 opening Premier League games. The Moroccan international has two assists to his name under Walter Mazzari and whilst performances could have been slightly better, he has settled into playing English football quickly and will no doubt continue to impress come February.

Yannick Bolasie (DR Congo)

Everton’s £25million summer recruit Yannick Bolasie is a key player for DR Congo and there really is not too much doubt of his call up to the African Cup of Nations in January. The 27 year-old has started every game for Ronald Koeman’s side and has scored one and assisted four so far in this campaign.

DR Congo are in a fairly difficult group where they will play Kenya, Zambia and Guinea-Bissau and Bolasie will undoubtedly be one of, if not the, most important player in the competition. He has seven goals at international level and will be hoping for more come January.

Eric Bailly (Ivory Coast)

The African Cup of Nations will not heavily deplete Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United side but the absence of defender Eric Bailly, whose place in the Ivory Coast squad should already be assured, will not be well received given his recent form at Old Trafford.

The 22 year-old is currently sidelined with a serious knee injury that has ruled him out for around two months and if he recovers in time for the African Cup of Nations, Mourinho may be without the central defender from now until February. Bailly has really impressed since arriving from Villarreal in June and, if fit, will play a big role as the Ivory Coast look to reclaim their title.

Saido Mane (Senegal)

When Saido Mane completed his £34million move from Southampton to Anfield in the summer, he became the most expensive African footballer in history and will undoubtedly be a huge loss to Jurgen Klopp in January. This season, he has already scored and assisted 10 times in 11 games and has been a real asset for the German boss.

Senegal have been drawn against Namibia, Burundi and Niger and the striker could link up with Crystal Palace’s Pape Souare, Everton’s Oumar Niasse, Sunderland’s Lamine Kone and West Ham’s Diafra Sakho. The 24 year-old has 10 goals in 33 appearances for his country and is in great form to improve on this.

Riyad Mahrez (Algeria)

Riyad Mahrez and club record signing Islam Slimani are both practically guaranteed a place in the Algerian squad and are two of five players who could be departing the King Power Stadium to join up with their respective countries during January. Mahrez was one of the standout players during Leicester’s title-winning campaign and has scored and assisted over 50 times in 106 appearances for The Foxes.

Algeria will play Lesotho, Ethiopia and the Seychelles as they look to claim their second AFCON title. Mahrez will play a big part for his country and his link-up play with club teammate Slimani could really pay them dividends.