The January transfer window and the ACN

As the Premier League season moves deeper into the winter months thoughts begin to stray towards the opening of the January transfer window.

Which clubs will spend and how much is a biannual treat for all of us football fans and it seems as if a couple of clubs will be ready to splash the cash notably QPR with a new owner, Sunderland with a new manager and Chelsea at the point of a mass clear out.

But there is also the added wrinkle of the African Cup of Nations that will impact seven Premier League clubs this year.

The tournament kicks off in the last week of January and will last for about a month but you can basically say that any players called up for international duty will be out of club action for between six and eight weeks.

Some clubs will struggle to lose key players whilst others, notably Man United have little to fear from the loss of one player.

Here are the clubs impacted and the players they are likely to lose.

Arsenal 

Chamakh - Morocco

Gervinho - Ivory Coast

QPR

Taraabt - Morocco

Traore - Senegal

Manchester United

M B’ Diouf - Senegal

Manchester City

K Toure  - Ivory Coas

Y Toure - Ivory Coast

Chelsea

Kalouu - Ivory Coast

Drogba - Ivory Coast

Essien - Ghana

Wigan

M Diame - Senegal

S Gohouri - Ivory Coast

Newcastle

Ba - Senegal

Tiote - Ivory Coast

I think Wigan will be hit hard by the departure of two senior players from a small squad.

Arsenal needed to buy a new forward in January in any case, but the loss of Gervinho could hit them hard, more so than the *loss* of Chamakh.

Chelsea might find themselves short on goals with the want away Drogba in sunnier climes.

But I think the team that will really struggle to deal with the loss of players for that month or so is Newcastle. Demba Ba has been great for them so far this eason and Tiote is a powerful presence that they miss whenever he is off the pitch.

Will these losses mean teams buy to fill the gaps? Perhaps not because of this alone, but when you look at Newcastle and Arsenal it was apparent both of those teams needed to strengthen up front even before the ACN.

It makes it almost certain that Wenger and Pardew will be buying a front man very early in January.