Salah and Mbeumo lead the list of Premier League players heading to the AFCON

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Mohamed Salah has gone for up to a month, costing Liverpool its all-time leading goal-scorer in the Premier League.

Manchester United has lost its most potent attacking force in Bryan Mbeumo, along with two more key figures.

They're nothing compared to Sunderland, a promoted team punching above its weight in England's top flight. It has been decimated by the loss of six players.

The Africa Cup of Nations is taking a toll on the Premier League, with some of its biggest stars heading off to the tournament situated right in the middle of the season. And this weekend is the first round of matches when teams will have to do without those players.

It is unfortunate that AFCON can be cast as a nuisance for many clubs in Europe — though international soccer in general can be viewed like that when pitted against club ambitions of winning titles. But at least the World Cup, European Championship or Copa America are staged during the offseason of Europe's top leagues.

AFCON is traditionally held in January-February but has been brought forward this year — from Sunday to Jan. 18 — meaning less disruption for leagues in Spain, Germany and France, which have winter breaks of varying periods in December-January.

The Premier League, however, plays through the Christmas and New Year holidays, with the added strain of the FA Cup thrown into one of the busiest periods of the campaign.

The likes of Liverpool and United should have deep enough squads to cope with the loss of key players such as Salah and Mbeumo. But it could have a major impact on Sunderland, which is just two points off the top four after an outstanding start to the season.

Arthur Masuaku, Noah Sadiki, Bertrand Traore, Habib Diarra, Chemsdine Talbi and Reinildo Mandava are all taking part in the Africa Cup in Morocco.

Sunderland is an outlier with so many going to the tournament but for Crystal Palace the loss of just one player — Ismaila Sarr — is potentially significant, given his importance to the team. Likewise, Brighton is losing key midfielder Carlos Baleba.

Burnley, second to bottom in the standings, is losing three players and so is Fulham.

Notably, at the top of the table, Arsenal has no players in the AFCON, likewise title-challenging Aston Villa and Chelsea, which could be telling over the next month.

Brentford: Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso), Frank Onyeka (Nigeria)

Brighton: Carlos Baleba (Cameroon)

Burnley: Axel Tuanzebe (DR Congo), Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia), Lyle Foster (South Africa)

Crystal Palace: Ismaila Sarr (Senegal)

Everton: Idrissa Gana Gueye (Senegal), Iliman Ndiaye (Senegal)

Fulham: Calvin Bassey (Nigeria), Samuel Chukwueze (Nigeria), Alex Iwobi (Nigeria)

Liverpool: Mohamed Salah (Egypt)

Manchester City: Rayan Ait-Nouri (Algeria), Omar Marmoush (Egypt)

Manchester United: Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon), Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast), Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco)

Nottingham Forest: Willy Boly (Ivory Coast), Ibrahim Sangare (Ivory Coast)

Sunderland: Arthur Masuaku (DR Congo), Noah Sadiki (DR Congo), Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso), Habib Diarra (Senegal), Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco), Reinildo Mandava (Mozambique)

Tottenham Hotspur: Yves Bissouma (Mali), Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal)

West Ham United: Aaron Wan-Bissaka (DR Congo), El Hadji Malik Diouf (Senegal)

Wolverhampton Wanderers: Emmanuel Agbadou (Ivory Coast), Tawanda Chirewa (Zimbabwe)

On Saturday, first-place Arsenal travels to Everton, while City in second is at home against West Ham. Liverpool will look to win back-to-back league games for the first time since September when the defending champion heads to Tottenham.

Aston Villa and United meet on Sunday.

Hugo Ekitike has scored four goals in his last two league games. With Salah off to the AFCON, Liverpool's other forwards can establish themselves without the noise that has surrounded the Anfield icon in recent weeks when his future has been placed in doubt.

United States international Tyler Adams suffered suspected left knee MCL damage in Bournemouth's 4-4 draw with United on Monday. Chelsea forward Estevao has a small muscle issue, coach Enzo Maresca said. Everton was monitoring a potential hamstring complaint for Jack Grealish.

Expect more protests at last-place Wolves.

Bottom of the standings and looking certain to be relegated, Wolves will equal Sheffield United's 2020-21 record of 17 games without a win from the start of a Premier League season if they fail to beat Brentford at home on Saturday.

There were protests at Wolves' last home match against Manchester United this month and, despite a spirited performance at Arsenal last week, Rob Edwards' team is 14 points adrift of safety.

James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, centre, challenges for the ball with Brighton's Carlos Baleba, left, during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Brighton and Hove Albion in Liverpool, England, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

Crystal Palace's Ismaila Sarr, centre, makes an attempt to score during the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Manchester City in London, Sunday, Dec.14, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

West Ham's Freddie Potts, left, challenges for the ball with Manchester United's Bryan Mbeumo during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and West Ham United in Manchester, England, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah applauds supporters after the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Brighton and Hove Albion in Liverpool, England, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

HELSINGBORG, Sweden (AP) — NATO allies and defense officials expressed bewilderment Friday at U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would send 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland just weeks after ordering the same number of forces pulled out of Europe.

The apparent change of mind came after weeks of statements from Trump and his administration about reducing — not increasing — the U.S. military footprint in Europe. Trump's initial order set off a flurry of action among military commanders and left allies already doubtful about America's commitment to Europe's security to ponder what forces they might have to backfill on NATO's eastern flank with Russia and Ukraine.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration said it was reducing levels in Europe by about 5,000 troops, and U.S. officials confirmed about 4,000 service members were no longer rotating into Poland from Germany. The dispatch to Germany of U.S. personnel trained to fire long-range missiles was also halted.

But in a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said he would now send "an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland,” citing his strong ties with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, whom Trump endorsed in elections last year.

“It is confusing indeed, and not always easy to navigate,” Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told reporters Friday at a meeting she was hosting of her NATO counterparts, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Ministers from the Netherlands and Norway were sanguine about Trump’s latest move, as was Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže, who said allies knew the U.S. troop “posture was being reconsidered, and now there is no change of posture. For now.”

U.S. defense officials also expressed confusion. “We just spent the better part of two weeks reacting to the first announcement. We don’t know what this means either,” said one of two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.

But Rubio said Washington’s allies understand that changes in the U.S. troop presence in Europe will come as the Trump administration reevaluates its force needs. “I think there’s a broad recognition that there are going to be eventually less U.S. troops in Europe than there has historically been for a variety of reasons,” he said.

The latest surprise came despite a U.S. pledge to coordinate troop deployments, including one from NATO’s top military officer, U.S. Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, on Wednesday.

Trump's initial announcement that he would withdraw troops came as he fumed over remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said that the U.S. was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticized what he called a lack of strategy in that war.

Trump told reporters that the U.S. would be cutting even more than 5,000 and also announced new tariffs on European cars. Germany is the continent’s biggest auto producer.

Rubio insisted that Trump’s decision “is not a punitive thing. It’s just something that’s ongoing.”

About 80,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Europe. The Pentagon is required to keep at least 76,000 troops and major equipment on the continent unless NATO allies are consulted and there is a determination that such a withdrawal is in U.S. interests.

The withdrawal of 5,000 troops might drop numbers below that limit.

But Trump's latest post suggests that troop numbers in Europe would not change. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski welcomed the decision to send more forces to his country, saying it ensures that “the presence of American troops in Poland will be maintained more or less at previous levels.”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also welcomed the move. On Thursday, before Trump took to Truth Social again, Rutte had underlined that it was important for Europe to take care of its own security. “We have a process in place. This is normal business,” he told reporters.

At NATO headquarters in Brussels, meanwhile, U.S. officials briefed the allies on the Pentagon's aims for its commitments to the NATO Force Model, which involves contingency planning for Europe’s defense in the event of serious security concerns. It was widely expected that a further reduction of U.S. forces would be coming.

Asked whether any cuts were announced, Rutte said: “I’m afraid it’s much more complicated than that.” He said the procedure “is highly classified” and declined to give details.

Rubio played down concerns about a shift in U.S. force levels in Europe, saying: "Every country has to constantly reevaluate what their needs are, what their commitments are around the world, and how to properly structure that.”

Cook reported from Brussels. Associated Press writer Emma Burrows in London contributed.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with journalists during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, front second left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, front left, speak with each other during a group photo at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte look at each other as they deliver a statement during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže speaks at the doorstep of the NATO foreign ministers' meeting at Sea U in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte deliver a statement during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives with his wife Jeanette at Malmo Airport, Friday, May 22, 2026, in Malmo-Sturup, Sweden, ahead of a NATO foreign ministers meeting. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, second from left, shakes hands with Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson, as he is greeted by King Carl Gustaf of Sweden, Queen Silvia of Sweden and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden Maria Malmer Stenergard, right, before a dinner at Sofiero Castle in Helsingborg, Sweden, Thursday May 21 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)