Of course, their leave depends entirely on whether they are selected and if they are injury-free at the time, but one would expect the high-flying Spurs duo to make the trip to Africa.

Bissouma has returned to his Brighton form in the pivot role under Ange Postecoglou, while Sarr has been a revelation in his breakthrough Tottenham campaign.

Of course, the Spurs youngster already has an AFCON winner’s medal to his name as he was part of the Senegal squad that lifted the trophy in 2022.

(Photo by Chloe Knott – Danehouse/Getty Images)

Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma off to AFCON

The AFCON 2024 draw took place last week and Senegal will face Cameroon, Guinea and The Gambia, while Bissouma’s Mali will play Tunisia, South Africa, and Namibia (FootballLondon).

Sarr will play his first game on January 15, and his final group stage match on January 23, while Bissouma will play between January 16 and January 24.

If either of the Spurs duo make it all the way to the final, they could be absent until February 11 and beyond (if celebrations are required).

Spurs Web Opinion:

I wonder whether Spurs will dip into the market early for midfield cover with both players leaving for a decent chunk of time. Tottenham already need more midfield depth, so it could be the perfect time to pull the trigger on a transfer.

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There is unlikely to be a lot of interest in this year’s edition of AFCON from Spurs fans given that no current member of the Tottenham first-team squad is taking part in the tournament.

However, Sarr, who was signed by Spurs from Metz in the summer and loaned back to the Ligue 1 club, joined up with the Senegal squad in Cameroon.

The 19-year-old has four senior caps for his country so far since making his debut back in March.

Senegal are in Group B along with Zimbabwe, Guinea and Malawi, with the two top placed teams from the six groups set to qualify for the knockout stages, along with four best-performing third-placed teams.

According to Tottenham’s official website, there are a number of reported COVID-19 cases within Senegal’s squad, which means manager Aliou Cisse could be forced to field a weakened side in Bafoussam this afternoon.

Spurs Web Opinion

I will certainly be keeping a close eye on Sarr to see how he gets on in the tournament if he gets game time. Senegal have a decent squad and will fancy their chances of going far in the tournament.

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Tottenham take on the Blues at Stamford Bridge in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final on Wednesday before welcoming Thomas Tuchel’s men to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the second leg a week later.

However, with the African Cup of Nations starting this weekend, according to Inews, the Blues will be without first-choice goalkeeper Edward Mendy and winger Hakim Ziyech, who have been called up to the Senegal and Morocco squads respectively.

Spurs next return to Premier League action with a North London derby at home on Sunday, January 16, in a clash that could prove crucial in the race for a top-four finish.

Inews have revealed that Mikel Arteta could be without four of his players, with Thomas Partey, Mohamed Elneny, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and Nicholas Pepe heading to Cameroon to represent their country at AFCON.

Tottenham, in contrast, do not have a single player from their squad taking part in the tournament, which could work in their favour for the upcoming derbies.

Spurs Web Opinion

Hopefully, Spurs can take advantage of Chelsea’s and Arsenal’s situation to get wins under their belt. The results over the course of January would probably shape the reminder of Tottenham’s season, and the same is probably true with both Chelsea and Arsenal.

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The AFCON is scheduled to take place between January 9 to February 7 at the start of next year.

Spurs do not have a single international from Africa in their squad at the moment following the departure of Ivory Coast captain Serge Aurier in the summer and will thus not be affected by the tournament.

The Lilywhites have two crucial London derbies against Arsenal and Chelsea on January 15 and January 22 respectively, and both of Spurs’ rivals will be without key men.

Livescore.com have revealed that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Thomas Partey, Nicolas Pepe and Mohamed Elneny will travel to Cameroon for AFCON and will thus be unavailable for the North London derby.

Meanwhile, the Blues will also be without goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, who will join up with the Senegal squad and Hakim Ziyech, who is set to join up with Morocco.

Tottenham are scheduled to face Southampton on February 10, just after the end of the tournament.

Depending on how far Ghana and Mali progress in the tournament, Mohammed Salisu and Moussa Djenepo could be in a race against time to feature for the Saints against Spurs.

The full list of 39 potential absent players is as follows:

Arsenal – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon), Thomas Partey (Ghana), Nicolas Pepe (Ivory Coast), Mohamed Elneny (Egypt)

Aston Villa – Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso), Trezeguet (Egypt), Marvelous Nakamba (Zimbabwe)

Brentford – Tariqe Fosu-Henry (Ghana), Frank Onyeka (Nigeria), Julian Jeanvier (Guinea)

Brighton – Yves Bissouma (Mali)

Burnley – Maxwel Cornet (Ivory Coast)

Chelsea – Edouard Mendy (Senegal), Hakim Ziyech (Morocco)

Crystal Palace – Wilfried Zaha (Ivory Coast), Jeffrey Schlupp (Ghana), Cheikhou Kouyate (Senegal), Jordan Ayew (Ghana)

Everton – Alex Iwobi (Nigeria), Jean-Philippe Gbamin (Ivory Coast)

Leicester – Wilfred Ndidi (Nigeria), Kelechi Iheanacho (Nigeria), Daniel Amartey (Ghana), Nampalys Mendy (Senegal)

Liverpool – Mohamed Salah (Egypt), Naby Keita (Guinea), Sadio Mane (Senegal)

Manchester City – Riyad Mahrez (Algeria)

Spurs Web Opinion

The fact that almost all of the big teams in the Premier League (except Spurs) will be losing key players to AFCON is a huge advantage to us.

Hopefully, we will be able to take full advantage against Arsenal and Chelsea, although getting a result at Stamford Bridge will not be easy even with Kepa Arrizabalaga in goal.

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Aurier started the season in good form but the right-back performances have dipped over the last few months.

The defender was part of the Tottenham side who fell to an embarrassing 3-0 loss to Dinamo Zagreb, with the former Paris Saint-Germain man not covering himself in glory for any of the Croatian side’s goals.

Aurier was left out of the matchday squad for Tottenham’s trip to Villa Park on Sunday allegedly due to illness but the striker did join up with the Ivory Coast squad for their two AFCON qualification games.

The 28-year-old certainly had a much happier time on the field with the Elephants than he has had Spurs recently as he bagged a goal and an assist in the 3-0 win.

The Spurs man netted the opener, pouncing on a rebound to tap in from close range after the Niger keeper saved a goal-bound attempt.

Ten minutes later, Aurier then produced a cross into the box for Max-Alain Gradel to double the away side’s lead and later provided a second assist for Wilfried Kanon.

Ivory Coast will now take on Ethiopia on Tuesday in their next qualification game after which Aurier is set to fly back to London ahead of next Sunday’s trip to Newcastle.

2⃣5⃣’ Serge Aurier.
3⃣4⃣’ Serge Aurier.
6⃣0⃣’ Serge Aurier.@Serge_aurier contributing to all of @FIFCI_tweet’s three goals vs. Niger to hand Côte d’Ivoire their #TotalAFCON ticket. #TotalAFCONQ2021 pic.twitter.com/sonxQZ0MIu

— CAF (@CAF_Online) March 26, 2021

Spurs Web Opinion

It will be interesting to see if Aurier features against Newcastle. I would think that there would be a fall-out from the Zagreb humiliation and Aurier could well be one of the victims. Tanganga deserves to keep his place in the side for the clash against the Magpies after the performance he put in at Villa Park. However, if Aurier once again misses out on the matchday squad for the trip to St James’ Park, then that would be a sign that his days at the club are numbered.

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