There are three premises for the 2024 Africa Cup, which will be held between January 13 and 11 of next year, suppose a handicap for the OUT Las Palmas. The first is that Saul Coco and Omenuke Mfulu, the two players from the current squad likely to be able to play it, continue on the squad, something assured in the case of the second and not so much in the case of the first, sought by several teams this summer.
The second is that the teams from Equatorial Guinea, for which the center-back plays, and from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for which the midfielder plays, qualify for the tournament, an objective that the former Spanish colony has already achieved and could achieve old Belgian Congo if they win a home game in September. The third and last is that both are selected, which seems guaranteed in both cases. Therefore, the probability that the championship of African teams will affect the yellow team through the loss of two troops in the middle of the League is high.
It is a possibility that the sports management of the UD commanded by Luis Helguera y debt considered when making the template for the new project in the First Division. In the middle of the championship, suddenly, Xavi Garcia Pepper It can be seen without two of the footballers called to be starters next yearespecially Coco, indisputable for the coach and whose projection is enormous.
The central defender has offers, but he won’t leave if no one puts in an amount of around 15 million
For this reason, several teams from Spain, France and Italy have made offers for him, however, the club is determined that they will not sell the player for less than half the termination clause between fixed and variable. This means that someone must put around 15 million euros ahead, something unlikely in the markets in which the player from Lanzarote is interested.
In any case, regardless of whether Coco is transferred this summer or not, UD is looking for a central defender to fill the vacancy left by Sidnei. Mika Marble He is the chosen one, the main candidate to reinforce the yellow defense, although his arrival will not be easy because several teams want him, although UD has the trump card of having to receive 5 million for Pedri as soon as he plays three games for at least 45 minutes; Barça, which if it pays a million to Andorra will own it, and if not, will keep 50% of the player, could reduce the amount in exchange for facilitating the arrival of the Catalan, whether on loan or transfer.
Central and central midfielder
In addition, the yellow squad already has other central defenders such as Curbelo, Álex Suárez and Enrique Clemente, so with the arrival of one more, Coco’s possible absence for a month would be more or less resolved.
As for the position of midfielder, Mfulu and Fabio are on paper the ones in charge of occupying it, however, if the Franco-Congolese leaves, there would only be one left, although Kirian and Loiodice can play occasionally as a midfielder. In any case, the incorporation of another anchor is not ruled out and that is where Roque Mesa enters the scene, free after the relegation of Valladolid and still awaiting his opportunity to wear yellow again.
Be that as it may, it is very likely that the 2024 Africa Cup will be a drag for UD. Saúl Coco is a fixture in his team and if he did not go to the last call in June it was because he already had a guaranteed ticket to the Ivory Coast. In addition, he already participated in the previous continental tournament, in which he played every minute –Equatorial Guinea was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Senegal, later champion–. At 24 years old, he has 12 official matches and three goals.
The second country in the midfield, with which he debuted on June 18, has yet to stamp his ticket
Mfulu, for his part, accumulates only one, the one he played on June 18 in Gabon. He came on in the second half in a key clash for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who had to win to depend on themselves in the last day and they did (0-2). At the beginning of September, he will have to seal the pass at home against Sudan. It should be noted that the midfielder, 29 years old and born in France, had made his debut days before in a friendly against Uganda.
Commitment with the UD
In his case, as the footballer himself revealed to this medium last Monday, he decided not to attend the previous call, in March – when he was a member of Elche, in 2021, he declined to attend another appointment and was punished by the federation for almost two years-, “because he was totally committed to the promotion”.
Thus, in the current context, both Coco and Mfulu will be cited with their respective teams and if the two previous premises have been met before, the UD will lose them for at least two or three weeks, which lasts the brief previous concentration and the phase of groups. It would be a handicap.
2023-06-28 21:06:03
#Africa #Cup #handicap #January
