The five stars from AFCON that Premier League teams should be looking at in January | OneFootball

There is elite talent on display at the Africa Cup of Nations and Premier League scouts will be on high alert with the January transfer window now open for business.

Nigeria and Algeria boasted straight wins in their groups, Botswana, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon had three consecutive defeats in theirs, and countries like Morocco, Egypt and Senegal have started well, as expected.

Known stars in Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Wilfried Zaha and Bryan Mbeumo are all through to the next round with their respective countries, but who are the stand-out performers available and ready to be snapped up by Premier League clubs?

Brahim Diaz (Morocco)

The Real Madrid winger has enjoyed three goals in three matches for his country thus far – leading the top scorers list with Riyad Mahrez and Ayoub El Kaabi.

The 26-year-old has only started three matches for Madrid in the 2025/26 La Liga season, managing 312 minutes, no goals, and two assists.

Diaz has already tasted Premier League action at Manchester City when he joined at age 14 in 2013, but was limited to just 50 minutes in the competition back then. Does he have unfinished business in England?

Ademola Lookman (Nigeria)

The Nigerian winger has begun his second AFCON campaign with four goal contributions – the joint-most in the group stage with two goals and two assists.

Lookman scored the decisive goal in his country’s 2–1 opener against Tanzania, and was instrumental in Nigeria’s 3–2 victory over Tunisia – assisting the first two and finding the net for their last.

The 28-year old won African Player of the Year in 2024 after netting a hattrick for Atalanta in the 2024 Europa League Final – so in this unstoppable form, and with his wealth of experience in big moments, can the top clubs continue to keep sleeping on Ademola Lookman?

Mamadou Sangare (Mali)

Two Player of the Match awards in three matches for the Lens midfielder has helped to keep his country unbeaten across the group stage as Mali finished second in Group A.

A FotMob rating of 7.83 across the group stage has seen him become one of the most consistent players in the tournament, as Mali face Tunisia in the Round of 16.

At 23-years-old, Sangare holds the number 8 shirt at Lens and has featured prominently in their top-of-the-league campaign, pipping Champions League holders PSG to top spot of Ligue 1 after 16 games. Could this consistent, young, talented midfielder be on his way to a January move following AFCON?

Samuel Chukwueze (Nigeria)

Although he’s already at Fulham, he’s on a real hot streak of form. It’s two assists in two matches, and he has created the most chances per 90 with 4.26 for Nigeria.

With five goal contributions in his last five matches at Fulham in the Premier League before leaving for AFCON, the 26-year-old has continued that form into this competition.

But with two goals and four assists in just three starts in the league this season, could another Premier League side be tempted to offer him more minutes in their side during the January transfer window?

Elias Achouri (Tunisia)

A two-goal haul for Achouri against Uganda scored him a 9.2 rating on FotMob in round one of AFCON’s group stage fixtures, with no player scoring a higher rating so far across any other round.

The 26-year-old winger plays for F.C. Copenhagen and has helped the Danish club with three goals and one assist in the first half of the season.

After a fine start to his AFCON campaign in December with Tunisia, is now a good time for a Premier League club to sign him at an affordable price?