SuperCoach EPL trade guide: Best replacements for missing AFCON stars

More than 30 Premier League players have been called up by their national teams for AFCON, which runs until January 18.

These are the key names in SuperCoach EPL who will be missing, and who you could target to replace them at a similar price.

MOHAMMED SALAH (Egypt) | 21.6% owned

BEST TRADE: Hugo Ekitike (Liverpool) – Don’t over think this one. Ekitike has been in sublime form in the past two weeks and should still make a small profit by trading Salah to his Liverpool teammate. Ekitike has scored 23 and 22 SuperCoach points in the past two rounds after a run of sub appearances caused his price to crash to £3.5m.

BRYAN MBEUMO (Cameroon) | 4.5% owned

Mbeumo has been one of the key figures in Manchester United’s improvement this season and has five double-figure SuperCoach scores. He’ll be a key absentee for Ruben Amorim’s side. Mbeumo’s value gives SuperCoaches plenty of replacement options.

BEST TRADE: Hugo Ekitike (Liverpool) or Florian Wirtz (Liverpool) – Wirtz’s time to deliver on his big price tag has officially arrived with Salah out of the Liverpool team for a month. If you want a point-of-difference instead of Ekitike, the German is your man. You’ll make a nice profit on that move too.

ILIMAN NDIAYE (Senegal) | 1.4% owned

The Everton man has been one of the best PODs in SuperCoach this season, having been in the top 10 for points scored for most of the campaign. His ownership is small, but they have enjoyed strong returns most weeks.

BEST TRADE: Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa) – At risk of being too repetitive, the best replacement for Nidaye looks to be Ekitike. But Rogers has been one of the form players in the Premier League in the past month, helping lift Aston Villa into title contention.

PAPE MATAR SAAR (Cameroon) | 7.7% owned

Matar Saar has been relegated to a bench role by Thomas Frank in recent weeks and after peaking at £7.7m, his SuperCoach value has fallen to less than £5m. His Spurs teammate Xavi Simons is available at a similar price, while Curtis Jones is a bargain and has started the last two matches for Liverpool.

BEST TRADE: Xavi Simons (Tottenham) – His scoring has been hit-and-miss but the attacking midfielder has a huge SuperCoach ceiling. Mason Mount should get an uptick in minutes during the AFCON period too for Manchester United.

EL HADJI MALICK DIOUF (Senegal) | 9.9% owned

Senegal is considered one of the favourites for AFCON, so it’s likely to be mid-January before SuperCoach teams still carrying Diouf can use him again. The West Ham left-back was one of the most popular starting picks but his value has fallen by about £3m since round 6.

BEST TRADE: Ian Maatsen (Aston Villa) or Nathan Clyne (Crystal Palace) – Both have been starting in recent weeks and Clyne in particular looks to have strong job security while Daniel Munoz is out due to injury.