By OkayGoal
The Asian Cup will no longer land in the middle of the Premier League season, and three clubs have just got key players back for the busiest stretch of the winter.
The Asian Football Confederation has moved the tournament in Saudi Arabia from its original January 7 to February 5, 2027 slot to December 23, 2027 to January 21, 2028. The AFC said the decision was taken “in light of the current exceptional circumstances arising from developments in the region, including substantial logistical complexities and travel disruptions”, and the new dates still have to be presented to FIFA for approval.
For Aston Villa, Hull City and Ipswich Town, that means no January without a first-choice goalkeeper, a key defender or a senior forward. Here is what each of them has been spared, starting with Villa.
Asian Cup postponed: why Villa are the big winners
Zion Suzuki would have had to join up with Japan straight after the New Year, which meant his last game before leaving would have been Villa’s meeting with Bournemouth on January 2. Japan were among the favourites, so a run to the final was a real possibility, and that could have cost Unai Emery his goalkeeper for nine matches in all competitions.
Everton, Manchester United, Fulham, Ipswich and Sunderland were the league opponents Villa would have faced before the final. The bigger worry was Europe: Suzuki would have missed Villa’s last two Champions League league-phase games, against Borussia Dortmund and Slavia Praha.
Villa paid Parma an initial £25m for Suzuki in the summer, and he has made 12 appearances so far. Villa’s European campaign took a knock when they were beaten 3-0 by Barcelona on Tuesday night, which only makes the last two league-phase games more important. Losing him for two Champions League games that could decide the knockout places would have been a heavy blow for Emery.
Who misses out on Hull City’s January?
Nobody now, and that is a huge relief for Hull City. Lucas Herrington, only 19, has become a regular for Australia and impressed for the Socceroos at the World Cup in the summer. Under the original dates he would have missed at least seven Premier League games, plus Hull’s FA Cup third-round tie.
The timing would have been brutal. Hull’s New Year run takes in Sunderland, Nottingham Forest, Arsenal and Crystal Palace, and doing that without one of their most promising defenders would have tested a squad that has started life back in the top flight so well.
There was a second, smaller risk too. Hidemasa Morita, who joined Hull in the summer, has not been in the Japan squad in recent weeks and missed out on the World Cup, but a recall would have taken him away for a big chunk of the campaign as well.
Daizen Maeda stays for Ipswich’s key run
At Ipswich Town, the 29-year-old former Celtic forward Daizen Maeda, who has 33 caps and five goals for Japan since 2019, would probably have missed five Premier League games plus the FA Cup third round.
The list makes the point on its own: Coventry City at home on January 6, Bournemouth away, Hull at home, Aston Villa away and Spurs at home. Depending on how much rest he was given after the tournament, Maeda could also have missed the home game against Arsenal.
Ipswich and Hull have already shown how tight things are between them, after Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Hull. Having Maeda available for the return at Portman Road is a real lift for Gary O’Neil.
He will still be away this month, though. Japan play Brazil on November 14 and Paraguay on November 17, both in Singapore, and Maeda is almost certain to be involved.
Verdict: the Asian Cup postponement is a winter gift
Under the old dates, the Asian Cup would have hit Villa, Hull and Ipswich in exactly the weeks when fixtures come thick and fast, with an FA Cup round thrown in on top.
Now Emery keeps his No.1 for two Champions League nights, Hull keep their teenage defender for a run that includes Arsenal, and Ipswich keep an experienced international forward for a five-game league run that includes Hull, Villa and Spurs. The headache has not gone away for good: the new dates fall over the 2027-28 festive period instead. But for this season, all three clubs can plan January with a full squad.