Leicester City could lose fourth player in the new year
Ghana’s Abdul Fatawu has qualified for the tournament finals in Ivory Coast, thus he may not be an option.
Leicester City may now lose a fourth player to the Africa Cup of Nations after Ghana’s Abdul Fatawu qualified on Thursday.
The Black Stars recovered from behind to overcome Central African Republic, with new West Ham signing Mohammed Kudus equalizing before Lyon teenager Ernest Nuamah scored an 88th-minute winner. Ghana is the latest team to secure a place in next year’s finals in the Ivory Coast, which begin on January 13 and will last four weeks.
And if Fatawu gets a call-up to represent the Black Stars, he could be the fourth City player at the tournament. Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho are both expected to be in the Nigeria squad, while Patson Daka is a shoo-in for Zambia if he is fit.
It is not a certainty that Fatawu will be called up though. He was not originally included in Chris Hughton’s squad for this international break, but called up as an injury replacement when Genk’s Joseph Paintsil dropped out. While he has 14 caps for his country, he’s not played since a cameo in their final World Cup group game in Qatar last December, while his last start for the Black Stars came last September.
Hughton, a former Newcastle and Brighton manager, said: “He’s just joined Leicester City, which is a fantastic move for him.” He didn’t get much playing time in Portugal. It’s a positive move for him and will help him advance in his career.”
It would be a shame to lose Fatawu if he followed up his impressive debut with similar performances, though City are well-covered should he be called up. Stephy Mavididi, Yunus Akgun, Kasey McAteer, Wanya Marcal, and Marc Albrighton are the other wingers available to Enzo Maresca.
Losing Ndidi and Iheanacho for potentially five weeks, with a week of training expected before the tournament, is a bigger blow to City. They will then just be left with three options for the two number eight spots in Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Cesare Casadei and Dennis Praet, while up front they will only have Jamie Vardy and Tom Cannon.
