Which FPL Players are going to AFCON?

With AFCON 2025 just round the corner. Planning your team will become absolutely essential.

Planning for the Africa Cup of Nations is usually one of the trickiest parts of the FPL season. This year, though, managers have been thrown an unexpected lifeline: five extra free transfers specifically to help navigate the tournament period. It doesn’t remove the challenge entirely, but it does change the strategy.

This means a couple of things:

• Make sure you use up all of your transfers before GW16, as they will automatically be topped up to 5.
• It is still safe to bring in AFCON bound players right up until around GW14/15 as you will have plenty of resources to transfer them straight back out.

As a result, at no time in the year will it be more important to check in with our Predicted Line-Ups Hub, to see what effect AFCON has on Premier League starting line-ups.

Pay Attention to the Schedule

 

The first thing to understand is that AFCON absences don’t hit all at once. Some players depart earlier, some later, and a few return quicker depending on how far their nations progress. That means the extra transfers shouldn’t be burned immediately. Instead, think of them as a small “war chest” you can dip into as each key asset becomes unavailable.

I can’t think of a year in recent times where the AFCON impact will be so big. Not only do we have to worry about usual suspects like Mo Salah, but this year, we also have FPL stars like Ndiaye, Mbeumo and Sarr. Normally, losing these stars would cause chaos amongst FPL managers, but with the extra transfers, you can be more measured. Moving them out frees up plenty of budget, and you’ll want a plan to bring them back in once AFCON ends. Ideally avoiding a hit.

Mid-priced and enabler picks will also be affected. Such as your Sarr,s, Ndiaye’s and Amad’s . This is where the bonus transfers really help. You can tweak around the edges of your squad without sacrificing your main weekly moves. So make sure you pay very close attention to the different countries beginning dates and tournament progression, as it could massively help you with your transfer scheduling.

Transfer Discipline

The one trap to avoid is treating the AFCON window like a free-for-all. Those five transfers still need to be used with purpose. Look at fixture swings, upcoming doubles, and which replacements actually offer long-term value rather than short-term patches. Also, as mentioned before, it is vital to try and save some in order to bring players back into your squad.

If you play it right, AFCON doesn’t have to feel like damage control this year. In fact, with smart timing and those extra transfers in your pocket, it might even be an opportunity to get ahead of the pack.

Which Premier League Players are Leaving for AFCON?

 

we’ve compiled a complete list of players who could feature at this year’s tournament, along with the dates for their first game. Make sure you keep an eye on the team announcements closer to the date and make sure you bookmark this article as we will be updating the confirmed teams and player departures in live time.

Player	Team	Country	First Fixture
Evann Guessand	Aston Villa	Ivory Coast	24 Dec 2025 — vs Mozambique
Amine Adli	Bournemouth	Morocco	21 Dec 2025 — vs Comoros
Dango Ouattara	Brentford	Burkina Faso	24 Dec 2025 — vs Equatorial Guinea
Frank Onyeka	Brentford	Nigeria	23 Dec 2025 — vs Tanzania
Carlos Baleba	Brighton	Cameroon	24 Dec 2025 — vs Gabon
Axel Tuanzebe	Burnley	DR Congo	23 Dec 2025 — vs Benin
Manuel Benson	Burnley	Angola	22 Dec 2025 — vs South Africa
Lyle Foster	Burnley	South Africa	22 Dec 2025 — vs Angola
Hannibal Mejbri	Burnley	Tunisia	23 Dec 2025 — vs Uganda
Ismaila Sarr	Crystal Palace	Senegal	23 Dec 2025 — vs Botswana
Christantus Uche	Crystal Palace	Nigeria	23 Dec 2025 — vs Tanzania
Cheick Doucouré	Crystal Palace	Mali	22 Dec 2025 — vs Zambia
Chadi Riad	Crystal Palace	Morocco	21 Dec 2025 — vs Comoros
Iliman Ndiaye	Everton	Senegal	23 Dec 2025 — vs Botswana
Idrissa Gueye	Everton	Senegal	23 Dec 2025 — vs Botswana
Calvin Bassey	Fulham	Nigeria	23 Dec 2025 — vs Tanzania
Alex Iwobi	Fulham	Nigeria	23 Dec 2025 — vs Tanzania
Samuel Chukwueze	Fulham	Nigeria	23 Dec 2025 — vs Tanzania
Mohamed Salah	Liverpool	Egypt	22 Dec 2025 — vs Zimbabwe
Omar Marmoush	Manchester City	Egypt	22 Dec 2025 — vs Zimbabwe
Rayan Ait-Nouri	Manchester City	Algeria	24 Dec 2025 — vs Sudan
Noussair Mazraoui	Manchester United	Morocco	21 Dec 2025 — vs Comoros
Amad Diallo	Manchester United	Ivory Coast	24 Dec 2025 — vs Mozambique
Andre Onana	Manchester United	Cameroon	24 Dec 2025 — vs Gabon
Bryan Mbuemo	Manchester United	Cameroon	24 Dec 2025 — vs Gabon
Yoane Wissa	Newcastle	DR Congo	23 Dec 2025 — vs Benin
Ibrahim Sangaré	Nottingham Forest	Ivory Coast	24 Dec 2025 — vs Mozambique
Taiwo Awoniyi	Nottingham Forest	Nigeria	23 Dec 2025 — vs Tanzania
Willy Boly	Nottingham Forest	Ivory Coast	24 Dec 2025 — vs Mozambique
Ola Aina	Nottingham Forest	Nigeria	23 Dec 2025 — vs Tanzania
Chemsdine Talbi	Sunderland	Morocco	21 Dec 2025 — vs Comoros
Blondy Nna Noukeu	Sunderland	Cameroon	24 Dec 2025 — vs Gabon
Reinildo Mandava	Sunderland	Mozambique	24 Dec 2025 — vs Ivory Coast
Habib Diarra	Sunderland	Senegal	23 Dec 2025 — vs Botswana
Simon Adingra	Sunderland	Ivory Coast	24 Dec 2025 — vs Mozambique
Arthur Masuaku	Sunderland	DR Congo	23 Dec 2025 — vs Benin
Noah Sadiki	Sunderland	DR Congo	23 Dec 2025 — vs Benin
Ahmed Abdullahi	Sunderland	Nigeria	23 Dec 2025 — vs Tanzania
Bertrand Traoré	Sunderland	Burkina Faso	24 Dec 2025 — vs Equatorial Guinea
Yves Bissouma	Tottenham	Mali	22 Dec 2025 — vs Zambia
Pape Matar Sarr	Tottenham	Senegal	23 Dec 2025 — vs Botswana
El Hadji Malick Diouf	West Ham	Senegal	23 Dec 2025 — vs Botswana
Aaron Wan-Bissaka	West Ham	DR Congo	23 Dec 2025 — vs Benin
Marshall Munetsi	Wolves	Zimbabwe	22 Dec 2025 — vs Egypt
Emmanuel Agbadou	Wolves	Ivory Coast	24 Dec 2025 — vs Mozambique
Tolu Arokodare	Wolves	Nigeria	23 Dec 2025 — vs Tanzania
Tawanda Chirewa	Wolves	Zimbabwe	22 Dec 2025 — vs Egypt
Jackson Tchatchoua	Wolves	Cameroon	24 Dec 2025 — vs Gabon

 

Notable Non-Attendees

• Antoine Semenyo
• Yankuba Minteh
• Mohammed Kudus

 

Summary

Upon the confirmation of African squads, we will also be providing our favourite replacement options for those heading to the tournament. So make sure you stay up to date with this article, along with our Predicted Line ups Hub and Game Week Tips sections.