AFCON 2023 players that Premier League clubs should sign

The AFCON 2023 has been one of the best international competition we have watched in recent times as there is always a shock in store on every single matchday.

The likes of Mohamed Salah, Victor Osimhen and Sadio Mane all represented their nations in the competition, with Egypt, Senegal, Morocco and Algeria entering as the favourites to win it.

These countries have some of the best African players around the world, and they are also the highest-ranked nations on the FIFA rankings.

However, none of them made the quarter-finals of the competition, which shows how unpredictable the competition has been.

We are at the semi-final stage at the moment, and Nigeria is the only top nation left in the competition, with most people tipping them to win it.

The West Africans have the best defence in the competition so far, and Victor Osimhen is leading the line very well for them in attack.

However, they will face a South African side that has also been performing well and won a superb penalty shootout against Cape Verde in the quarter-finals.

Their hero in that shoot-out was Ronwen Williams, who saved four spot kicks to ensure his country reached the semi-final.

He was also in superb form during the game and pulled off some stunning saves to keep the score goalless until after extra time.

In the other semi-final, host Ivory Coast will face DR Congo in a game between two teams no one expected to get to this stage.

Ivory Coast lost two of three group games and sacked their coach before the round of 16 match, yet they could win the competition on home turf.

DR Congo has surprised everyone as most of their players are not well known, but they have reached the semi-final.

These teams have some fine players, and even countries who have exited the competition have talented footballers that Premier League ticket buyers might want to see in their squad.

We have listed some players who may do well in the Premier League if they move to England in the summer.

Ademola Lookman, Nigeria

Lookman won the Youth World Cup with England in 2017 and waited to get a chance to play for their senior team, but that never happened.

He switched nationality and has been Nigeria’s star boy at this AFCON in the Ivory Coast.

His partnership with Victor Osimhen is devastating, and he has been an amazing setpiece taker.

With three goals so far, Lookman could be among the top scorers in the competition when it ends if he keeps performing well.

Atalanta is enjoying his talents now and will not want to lose him, but they are a selling club, and he might push to return to the Premier League if a big team shows interest in his signature.

Gelson Dala, Angola

Angola were the surprise package of the AFCON before they met Nigeria, who eliminated them, and one of their key players is Al-Wakrah striker Gelson Dala.

The 27-year-old scored four goals in the competition before their exit and was consistently their most dangerous attacker.

He has a superb goalscoring record at his club as well, and will be a starter for much of the mid-table to bottom-half clubs in the Premier League.

He could also serve as a backup option to a top-eight team in the competition and might dream of playing in the Premier League.

Mohamed Bayo, Guinea

Born in France, Bayo decided to represent Guinea, and his goals were a reason they reached the quarterfinals.

The Lille striker, who is spending this season on loan at Le Havre, outshined Stuttgart goal machine Serhou Guirassy for his country in the competition.

He scored three goals in his five matches and proved to be one of the finest forwards in Africa.

At club level, he has 62 career goals from just over 150 games, which is not bad for a player who does not always play as the main striker.

Semi Ajayi, Nigeria

West Brom’s Ajayi might be due a Premier League move for his superb form for Nigeria at the AFCON.

The former Arsenal youngster is part of a three-man wall alongside Williams Troost Ekong and Calvin Bassey.

They have made it extremely difficult for Nigeria to concede a goal in the competition, with the Super Eagles keeping four clean sheets in five games.

He is one of the finest defenders in a three centre-backs setting, and his performance in this competition shows that he can do it in a tense environment and when there are a lot of expectations on him, which qualifies him to do well in the Premier League.

Ronwen Williams, South Africa

Williams has been the hero for South Africa in this competition as he continues to pulls off stunning saves after stunning saves.

However, the performance that should make him earn a dream move to the Premier League is his heroics against Cape Verde Islands in the quarterfinals.

After pulling off some superb saves to stop them from scoring during the match and saved four penalties during the shoot out.

It is a remarkable achievement that will interest European clubs, and we expect him to get a chance to play in the Premier League next season.

Victor Osimhen, Nigeria

Osimhen has lived up to expectations at the AFCON, as he leads Nigeria towards winning another title.

The Napoli striker has announced that he will leave the club at the end of this season, and the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea are following him closely.

Osimhen has not been at his goalscoring best at the AFCON so far, but the Nigerian is a reason his country remains in the Ivory Coast.

Defenders focus so much on him, and his movement gives them problems, which opens up space for the likes of Moses Simon and Ademola Lookman to exploit and score or cause more problems.

It is clear he is leaving Napoli, and hopefully, he will join a Premier League club.

Mostafa Mohamed, Egypt

In the absence of Mohamed Salah, Mostafa was the hero for Egypt, and he led them to the knockout stage of the competition with his stand out performance.

The FC Nantes star scored four goals before Egypt left the competition, after he missed his penalty in the round of 16.

He has remained a key player for his present club in Ligue 1, but at 26, he can deliver in the Premier League.

Scouts from the competition certainly followed him at the AFCON, and it will be surprising if no one is interested in the attacker by the end of this season.

Gilson Tavares, Cape Verde

Tavares was one of the stars of the Cape Verde team at the AFCON and is still just 22.

He scored only once in five games, but the Benfica B youngster was one of his country’s dangermen.

One impressive part of his game is the amount of chances the team creates because of his movement.

He misses a lot of goals, but at 22, he still has time to get better, and any club that adds him to their squad can help him improve that part of his game.