The African Cup of Nations gets underway on 14th January and while everyone knows about Riyad Mahrez, Sadio Mane and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, we’ve picked out five players who you might not know too much about.
Kalidou Koulibaly
The 25-year old Senegal defender plies his trade for Napoli and was the subject of interest from Chelsea last summer, with the Blues reportedly offering £58 million for his services.
Napoli’s owner publicised the figure which he deemed not to be sufficient and Antonio Conte was unable to secure his first choice target and went for David Luiz instead. He represented France at youth level, but after switching allegiance to Senegal, Koulibaly has managed to win 11 caps.
Franck Kessie
Kessie is another who’s shone in Serie A this season and has been the subject of interest by a host of Premier League clubs. The Ivorian has made 15 league appearances for Atalanta and has scored six goals from midfield. He’s expected to assume the role of midfield general for the Elephants following the retirement of Yaya Toure after the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
Vincent Aboubakar
A number of Cameroonian players have refused to turn out for their national team in this tournament and it’s one of the worst in living memory, but one player to watch is Besiktas’ on loan striker Vincent Aboubakar. He first appeared for his country at the 2010 World Cup, aged just 18 and he’s since scored 18 goals for the Lions.
Ramadan Sobhi
Stoke City fans will know all about Ramadan Sobhi as they signed the 19-year old Egyptian from Al Ahly last summer. He’s had to wait patiently for first team action at the Bet365 stadium, but he’s performed when given the opportunity. He’s already won 10 caps for Egypt and is seen as one for the future at Stoke.
Yacine Brahimi
The Algeria vice-captain has been a key player for Porto since arriving in 2014. He was linked with Everton last summer after a season which saw him score nine goals and provide 10 assists in all competitions.
At international level, he was part of the Algeria side which progressed to the first knockout stage of the 2014 World Cup, scoring against South Korea, and he also featured in the last two African Cup of Nations tournaments.
