They are down to 16 at the African Cup of Nations and some surprising teams are heading home with heads bowed, but one man's sorrow is another's joy and there are a total of 28 players returning to clubs in Ligue 1 (14), Serie A (5) , EPL (5) and the Bundesliga (4), 12 from Algeria alone.

Clubgowi send out a free newsletter once or twice per month, it gives a round up of news, links to website articles which those in the database might have missed and also, includes offers and the occasional free preview.  The latest edition was send out on Friday and you can view it in full below and the "offers" remain open ............

The European football seasons are fast approaching and in four weeks time, Ligue 2 and the Championship games will have already started, with the Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and EPL campaigns getting underway a week later.