The African Cup of Nations gets underway on Sunday with tournament favourite and host Morocco taking on Comoros.
Numerous high-profile names will compete in the prestigious tournament, hoping to be enshrined in history and cement their reputations as national heroes.
More than 30 Premier League players will be featuring at the tournament, including the likes of Mo Salah, who left Liverpool fans a cryptic parting message, and Bryan Mbeumo.
Other names across Europe, such as Achraf Hakimi and striker Victor Osimhen, will also look to light up the tournament.
Ivory Coast head into AFCON as current holders, while Salah’s Egypt are the most successful side in the tournament’s history with seven wins.
However, that could all change as we take a look at the current squad values for each side.
Senegal boast highest AFCON squad value
Senegal head into the tournament with the highest squad market value, topping €449million – that’s a significant 64% increase in comparison to their squad two years ago.
Managed by Pape Thiaw, they’ll be hoping to replicate the success of four years ago when they were crowned champions.
Last year, they were knocked out in the Round of 16 by the Ivory Coast.
With the likes of Ismaila Sarr, Iliman Ndiaye and Nicolas Jackson spearheading their attack, there’s no reason Senegal can’t push for glory.
Bayern Munich’s Jackson is the most valuable player in the squad at €50m, ahead of Everton’s Ndiaye (€45m).
Palace’s Sarr is valued at €35m alongside Tottenham’s midfield enforcer Pape Matar Sarr. There’s another Premier League name in Sunderland’s Habib Diarra, who offers significant value at €32m.
Senegal have been drawn in Group D, alongside Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s DR Congo, Benin and Botswana.
Cameroon potential AFCON underdogs?
Anybody backing an underdog may be tempted to look no further than Cameroon, whose squad value in comparison to two years ago has increased by 85% – among the highest in all teams across the competition.
With a total value of €254m, they are currently the ninth favourites (16/1) to win.
Cameroon are five-time winners of AFCON, only Egypt have won more, and have a couple of high-profile names who can drive them towards the latter stages.
Their big market squad increase can be attributed to their key man, Mbuemo. The Manchester United forward is the joint-second most valuable player at €75m following his move from Brentford in the summer.
Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba, who could soon be joining Mbuemo at Old Trafford, is valued at €60m after his emergence in the top flight.
Osasuna’s defender Enzo Boyomo has also been tentatively linked with Aston Villa and is valued at €20m, alongside Levante’s Karl Etta Eyong.
Their squad value is the fifth-highest across the tournament, ahead of Algeria and Egypt.
Nigeria in decline?
Nigeria finished runners-up two years ago, and the bookies have them as the fifth favourites to go one better this time around.
It’s been 12 years since they last got their hands on the trophy, but the current squad valuation suggests they could fall short yet again.
In comparison to 2023, their squad value has seen a significant 18% drop, from €349m to €286.5m.
That can be mainly attributed to Osimhen’s value having fallen from €110m to €75m over the last two years.
Nigeria do have players that can light up the tournament, including Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman (€40m).
Fulham duo Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi will also be two players who could be instrumental to their success.
