Manchester United’s three players’ African Cup departure dates are confirmed, meaning they will miss the match against Villa! Onana’s clearance plan revealed.

FIFA officially announced that Premier League clubs can retain their African Cup of Nations players for an extra week, releasing them only after December 15. Originally, clubs had to release internationals two weeks before the tournament for preparation.

Among the 20 Premier League teams, Sunderland is the most affected by the African Cup, with as many as seven players participating. The new rule allows these players to feature in the December 14 Tyne-Wear derby against Newcastle United.

Manchester United also stand to benefit, as coach Rúben Amorim has three African Cup players, two of whom are key starters. With FIFA’s support, Mbemou, Amad Diallo, and Mazraoui are expected to play in the December 15 home Premier League match against Bournemouth.

Since the official release date set by FIFA is on match day, some players in a "gray area" might be allowed by Amorim to participate in the game and then immediately travel to Morocco for the African Cup.

It is estimated that 45 Premier League players may leave their clubs to participate in the African Cup starting December 21. Four clubs—Arsenal, Chelsea, Leeds United, and Newcastle—have no players in the tournament. Besides Sunderland, the bottom-placed Wolves are also hit hard, with five African Cup players, risking further descent into the relegation battle.

Manchester United is one of the clubs urging FIFA to postpone the player release deadline. If the African Cup players’ national teams reach the final on January 18, they could miss up to eight matches, including a third-round FA Cup tie. Four group-stage Premier League games will definitely be missed by these players.

For example, if Mbemou reaches the final, he will miss seven Premier League matches: away at Aston Villa on December 21, home against Newcastle on December 26, home versus Wolves on December 30, away at Leeds on January 4, away at Burnley on January 8, and the home clash with Manchester City on January 17. The third-round FA Cup, scheduled for the weekend of January 10 or 11, also falls during the African Cup period.

Of course, late arrivals of African Cup players are not unprecedented. During the 2023 African Cup, Manchester United’s André Onana delayed his return to play in the Premier League match against Tottenham but was ultimately left out of the squad for the group stage opener.

This time, Onana won’t have to face such a dilemma as he was officially excluded from Cameroon’s African Cup squad this week. On Monday, the Cameroon Football Federation made a shocking decision to sack Belgian coach Marc Brys and simultaneously drop Onana.

Brys was dismissed due to failure to qualify for next year’s World Cup and tensions with Cameroon football legend Eto’o, who was re-elected as federation president over the weekend. The new coach David Pagou released a 28-man list without Onana, who is currently on loan at Trabzonspor from Manchester United.

This is naturally a major blow for Onana, who lost the chance to showcase himself on a big stage and attract more buyers. It is reported that Onana will return to Manchester United after this season, but the club will look for another transfer opportunity for him.

According to "Football Insider," Manchester United aims for a deal similar to Antony’s transfer to Real Betis, where the Brazilian winger left for £21.7 million but the Red Devils retained 50% of any future transfer fee. Onana’s transfer is expected to follow a low-fee plus sell-on percentage structure as well.

Premier League financial advisor Stefan Borsen explained, "This is a common issue for high-salary players and nothing new. When a club buys a high-paid player who underperforms or fails outright, that asset becomes a liability. Clubs now face the choice of either cutting losses by subsidizing sales or finding a structure to recoup some value under certain conditions."

Borsen added, "Antony’s transfer to Betis is a good example. If he performs well after leaving, Manchester United could still recover more funds. This might take two to three years or might never happen, but at least there’s some hope. That’s all United can do—minimize losses. All clubs face this to some extent; you just try to secure the best possible outcome."