Sofiane Feghouli left out of Algeria's final Africa Cup of Nations squad

West Ham attacking midfielder Sofiane Feghouli was a surprise omission as Algeria announced their final squad of 23, external for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon.

Algeria's Belgian coach, George Leekens, had been expected to pick the 27-year-old for the tournament which kicks off on 14 January.

Three other English Premier League stars have been named, including the Leicester duo of Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani as well as Watford's Adlene Guedioura.

Another midfielder, Nabil Bentaleb, currently on a season-long loan at Schalke in Germany from Tottenham Hotspur, is also included.

Algeria, among the pre-tournament favourites, also left out Carl Medjani, who has been a consistent choice since his debut in 2010.

Leekens, who only took over as coach in October, picked uncapped 21-year-old Rennes defender Ramy Bensebaini in his squad who will warm-up with two friendly internationals against Mauritania next week before heading to the tournament.

The Desert Foxes have been drawn in Group B at the Nations Cup, alongside Tunisia, Senegal and Zimbabwe.

The teams will be based in Libreville with Algeria beginning their campaign against Zimbabwe on 15 January.

Algeria squad:

Goalkeepers: Rais Ouhab M'bolhi (Antalyaspor, Turkey), Malik Asselah (JS Kabylie, Algeria), Chemseddine Rahmani (MO Bejaia, Algeria)

Defenders: Mokhtar Belkhiter (Club Africain ,Tunisia), Mohamed Rabie Meftah (USM Alger, Algeria), Aissa Mandi (Real Betis, Spain), Hicham Belkaroui (Esperance, Tunisia), Liassine Cadamuro (Servette Geneva, Switzerland) , Mohamed Benyahia (USM Alger, Algeria), Ramy Bensebaïni (Stade Rennes, France), Faouzi Ghoulam (Napoli, Italy), Djamel Eddine Mesbah (FC Crotone ,Italy)

Midfielders: Adlène Guedioura (Watford, England), Saphir Taïder (Bologna, Italy), Nabil Bentaleb (Schalke 04, Germany), Mehdi Abeid (Dijon, France), Yassin Brahimi (FC Porto, Portugal), Rachid Ghezzal (Olympique Lyon, France)

Forwards: Islam Slimani (Leicester City, England), Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City, England), Hilal Soudani El Arabi (Dinamo Zagreb, Croatia), Baghdad Bounedjah (Al Sadd, Qatar), Sofiane Hanni (Anderlecht, Belgium)