The two-time Cameroonian AFCON winner has named the players worth keeping an eye on in the upcoming tournament.
The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations begins on Sunday with a clash between tournament hosts Cameroon and Burkina Faso.
The 33rd edition of the biennial competition finally gets underway in Central Africa after its original start date last June was postponed due to the unfavorable climatic conditions at that time.
Now, as part of an interview with Metro.co.uk, ex-Chelsea and Cameroon midfielder Geremi has named the following seven players as ones AFCON should watch out for in his homeland.
Sebastien Haller (Ivory Coast) 🇨🇮
“From the Ivory Coast, Sebastian Haller is one to watch. He is scoring a lot of goals for Ajax this season and for me has a very good chance to win the Golden Boot at AFCON if he continues with his current form.”
Ismaila Sarr (Senegal) 🇸🇳
“In the Senegal national team, you have to look at Ismaila Sarr, he’s going to do a lot of good things. He has been very good for Watford in the past few years and he is an exciting young talent. He is still young, and it’s clear he has a lot of potential when teams like Liverpool have been interested.”
* Sarr is awaiting to be passed fit for AFCON, having been sidelined since November with a knee injury.
Mohamed Elneny (Egypt) 🇪🇬
“Mohamed Elneny is also a standout for Egypt, he is an experienced player at the top level and always consistent for Arsenal when he gets the chance to play – and just as important as Mo Salah is for Egypt.”
Franck Kessie (Ivory Coast) 🇨🇮
“This could be the tournament for Franck Kessie to show the Premier League’s big clubs that he’s perfect to sign from Milan. He will be the heart of the Ivory Coast midfield and if they are to have a good tournament, he will have to fire for them.”
Islam Slimani (Algeria) 🇩🇿
“Another one to watch is Islam Slimani from Algeria, he can do good things. Yes, he didn’t do well at Leicester, but he is playing in France now and always a dangerous player in attack for Algeria with the service of Mahrez to feed balls into the box.”
Karl Toko Ekambi (Cameroon) 🇨🇲
“For my country Cameroon, I love Karl Toko Ekambi up front – he is Lyon’s leading scorer coming into a rich vein of form recently and they will miss him in Ligue 1. He can be a big talisman if my nation is going to try and win the tournament.”
Kamaldeen Sulemana (Ghana) 🇬🇭
2️⃣0️⃣🤝2️⃣2️⃣@KudusMohammedGH 💡🔥 pic.twitter.com/bGW8iZiZIk
— Kamaldeen Sulemana (@Kamaldeenho10) January 1, 2022
“As for some younger players, Kamaldeen Sulemana has caught my eye for Rennes in France. He is so quick as a winger and has the chance to be a huge star for Ghana. And he’s only 19 with a huge career ahead of him.”