Aston Villa’s new £30 million signing Evann Guessand will likely head to AFCON later this year
Evann Guessand of Aston Villa(Image: Getty Images)
Aston Villa’s new signing, Evann Guessand, could miss several games next season if he is selected to represent Ivory Coast at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) later this year.
The tournament runs from December 21 to January 18, meaning Guessand could miss up to seven matches in all competitions, including the FA Cup third-round weekend.
His absence would ultimately depend on Ivory Coast’s progress in the competition, though it is likely that national team manager Emerse Faé will select him.
AFCON begins one day after Villa are scheduled to face Manchester United, with Ivory Coast’s first match coming against Mozambique on December 24. This means there is a chance Guessand could feature against United, depending on the fixture’s exact timing.
If called up, Guessand would miss the Boxing Day trip to Chelsea and likely the December 30 clash away at Arsenal. Ivory Coast’s final group-stage match is against Gabon on December 31.
Should they progress, the round of 16 will be played between January 3 and 6, which would also rule Guessand out of Villa’s home game against Nottingham Forest.
If Ivory Coast reach the quarter-finals, which conclude on January 10, Guessand would miss the January 7 trip to Crystal Palace as well as the FA Cup third round.
Progress beyond the quarter-finals would see him unavailable for the home match against Everton on the weekend of January 17, with the semi-finals, third-place play-off, and final taking place between January 14 and 18.
Villa’s opponents could also be affected. Manchester United may be without André Onana, Noussair Mazraoui, Bryan Mbeumo, and Amad Diallo, all of whom are expected to feature at AFCON.
Just four days after the group stage ends, Villa host Nottingham Forest, who could be missing Ola Aina and Ibrahim Sangaré. Both Nigeria (Aina) and Ivory Coast (Sangaré) are tipped for deep runs in the competition.
The round of 16 finishes on January 6, one day before Villa visit Crystal Palace. Villa supporters might quietly back Senegal’s progress, as a deep run would rule out Palace winger Ismaïla Sarr, who scored five goals and provided two assists against Villa last season – the second-highest goal involvement against any Premier League team, behind only Bruno Fernandes’ eight against Leicester City. Palace could also lose Cheick Doucouré if Mali reach the quarter-finals.
Finally, Everton would be without Idrissa Gueye and Iliman Ndiaye if Senegal advance to the semi-finals.
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