Do you want to know the highest scoring Africans in the Premier League history? Look no further, as this article brings you the gist. For the past 28 years, African players have graced the English premier league, contributing to its popularity on the global stage.
We have seen the likes of Peter Ndlovu, George Weah, Didier Drogba, and Yaya Toure, put in brilliant performances in the league. A huge number of goals have been scored by these African players. Some are goals that can never be forgotten, while others are so much fun to watch.
Below is a list of 15 highest scoring Africans in the Premier league history.
Top 15 Highest Scoring Africans in the Premier League
Contents
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#15 Obafemi Martins – 28 Goals
Obafemi Akinwumi Martins played for Newcastle United after he left his former side Inter Milan. The Nigerian forward known for his back flips after scoring a goal made his debut for the club on the 27th of August 2006 but unfortunately picked up an injury in the match.
He scored his first goal in the premier league on the 17th of September against West Ham in a 2-0 victory. Obafemi left the club on the 29th of July 2009 to join VFL Wolfsburg after scoring 28 goals for the Newcastle.
He returned to the premier league on the 31st of August 2011, joining Birmingham City but failed to score a premier league goal for the club.
#14 Odion Ighalo – 33 Goals
Odion Jude Ighalo is a Nigerian professional footballer who joined Watford on 29 July 2014. He made his debut in the premier league on the 8th of August 2015 where he scored in a 2-2 draw against Everton in the first match of the season.
Scoring 5 goals for Watford made him win the December player of the month. He went on to play 599 minutes without a goal but ended it against arsenal in a 2-1 win. Odion left Watford to join the Chinese side Changchun Yatai after scoring 33 goals for the club. Currently, he plays for Shanghai Shenhua.
#13 Peter Ndlovu – 34 Goals
Peter Ndlovu was the first African to play in the premier league. He joined the premier league in the year 1992. He played for Coventry City and led his team in their glory days. Peter was known as Nuddy by the Coventry fans and was also called ‘The Bulawayo Bullet’.
The Zimbabwean scored 34 goals in the premier league before he moved to Birmingham City that played in the Championship. Ndlovu is currently the team manager of Mamelodi Sundowns FC in South Africa.
#12 Papis Cisse – 37 Goals
Papis Demba Cisse moved to Newcastle on 21 January 2012. He played alongside his fellow Senegalese, Demba ba upfront. He made his debut on the 5th of February scoring the winner in the 71st minute.
Cisse scored a brace against West Brom which made him the fastest player to score 5 goals after Les Ferdinand for Newcastle. He scored goals against Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Everton and some other EPL teams.
This puts his total tally at 37 premier league goals. The Senegalese joined Shandong Luneng in 2016 but currently plays for Alanyaspor in turkey.
#11 Pierre Emerick Aubameyang – 43* Goals
Pierre-Emerick Emiliano Francois Aubameyang a retired Gabonese forward moved to Arsenal on 31 of January 2018 for a record fee of £56 million. He scored the gunners’ fourth goal in a 5-1 thrashing of Everton on his debut.
He won the golden boot in the 2018-19 season alongside Mohammed Salah and Sadio Mane each on a total of 22 goals. Aubameyang currently has 43 goals for arsenal and still counting.
#10 Demba Ba – 43 Goals
Demba Ba is a Senegalese striker who played for West Ham, Newcastle and Chelsea. Signing for West Ham in the year 2011, he scored 7 premier league goals. He moved to Newcastle on the 17th of June that same year after West Ham was relegated.
His first goal was a hat-trick against Blackburn rovers and another hat-trick against stoke city. He scored the first in a 3-0 whooping of Manchester United on January 2012. In total, he scored 29 premier league goals for Newcastle.
Demba Ba joined Chelsea on 4 January 2013, making his debut on 16 January and scoring in the 2-2 draw against Southampton. He scored 7 goals for the blues before signing for Besiktas in 2014. He has a total of 43 premier league goals, and currently plys his trade at Istanbul Basaksehir in turkey.
#9 Frederick Kanoute – 43 Goals
Frederick Oumar Kanoute graced the English premier league in the year 2000. He signed for west ham and played a major role in the attack alongside Paolo di Caino. The Malian former striker scored 29 goals for West Ham before joining Tottenham Hotspur in 2003.
He scored the winner which was his first goal in a match against Leeds that ended 2-1 in favor of Spurs. Kanoute scored 14 goals for Spurs during his stay in the team. He moved to Sevilla in 2005 leaving the premier league with 43 goals to his name.
#8 Efan Ekoku – 52 Goals
Efangwu Goziem Ekoku is a Nigerian striker who played for Norwich in the 1992-93 season. He scored 4 of the goals in a 5-1 victory against Everton that made him the first player in the history of the Premier League to score more than 3 goals in a single match.
He scored 13 goals for Norwich before joining Wimbledon in 1994. Efan was the top scorer in the league for the club that season with 9 goals at the end of the season. He signed for Zurich in Switzerland in 1999.
Ekoku scored 37 goals for Wimbledon summing up his premier league goals to 52. He works as a commentator for English league productions presently.
#7 Kanu Nwankwo – 59 Goals
Nwankwo Kanu signed for arsenal in 1999, scoring 17 goals in 50 games for Arsenal that season. This includes a hat-trick against Chelsea to turn around the blues 2-0 lead to a 3-2 victory for the gunners.
“Papilo”, as he is fondly called by Nigerian fans, was a super-sub, known to come off the bench and change the game with his late goals. He was part of the “Invincibles” under Arsene Wenger that won the premier league unbeaten in the 2003-2004 season.
He scored a total of 30 goals for the gunners before joining West Bromwich Albion in 2004. “Papilo” scored 12 goals for West Brom before moving to Portsmouth in the 2006-07 season.
He hit the back of the net 17 times for Pompy before leaving due to contract misunderstandings, bowing out of the premier league with 59 goals in total.
#6 Mohammed Salah – 63* Goals
Mohammed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly completed a move to the premier league in the year 2014. He scored his first goal for the blues in a London derby against Arsenal in a 6-0 thrashing.
Mo Salah scored only 2 goals for Chelsea before he was loaned to Fiorentina and Roma before permanently signing for Roma. He returned back to the premier league with Liverpool in 2017, making his debut in a 3-3 draw against Watford.
Salah known for his pace when running down the flank is one of Liverpool’s deadly attackers. The Egyptian has scored 63 goals for the reds and has won the golden boot twice in the premier league and is still likely to grab the award in the coming years.
#5 Yaya Toure – 68 Goals
Gnegneri Yaya Toure spent all his English playing career at the Etihad Arena. He signed for Manchester City in 2010 and played in the citizens 3-man midfield.
Scored his first goal against Wigan Athletic, while playing the attacking role more due to his immense abilities. The Ivorian scored 68 goals for the citizens before joining Olympiacos in 2018.
He currently plays in the Chinese League One club, Qingdao Huanghai. Yaya is the only midfielder to make the list of the highest scoring Africans in the premier league history.
#4 Sadio Mane – 75* Goals
Sadio Mane joined Southampton from Salzburg in 2015. He scored his first goal on the 25th of October in a 1-0 win against stoke. Mane made a premier league record of scoring the fastest hat-trick in 2 minutes 56 seconds.
He scored a brace in a 3-2 victory against Liverpool which made the reds look interested in signing the Senegalese. Liverpool signed Mane in 2016, with 21 goals for Southampton. Mane made his debut for the reds in a 4-3 win against arsenal scoring the fourth goal.
Sadio mane has gone on to break some of fellow Senegalese Demba Ba’s record in the premier league. He won the golden boot in the 2018-19 season alongside Mohammed Salah and Emerick Aubameyang. He has scored 54 goals for Liverpool which ranks him 4th with 75 goals in total in the EPL.
#3 Yakubu Aiyegbeni – 95 Goals
Yakubu Aiyegbeni known as ‘The Yak’ was a Nigerian striker that played for Portsmouth. His eye for goal made Portsmouth win the division league and they were promoted to the premier league.
He scored his first premier league goal in a match against Manchester City which ended 1-1. Yak became the second African player to score 4 goals in a single match when Pompy defeated Middlesbrough 5-1 in the final match of the season.
Aiyegbeni scored his final goal for Portsmouth in May 2005, saving Portsmouth from relegation that season. He left Portsmouth having scored 28 goals and signed for Middlesbrough.
He later turned out for Everton and Blackburn rovers before leaving the Premier League in June 2012 scoring 95 premier league goals. Aiyegbeni retired at the age of 35 in 2017.
#2 Emmanuel Adebayor – 97 Goals
Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor is a retired Togolese striker who signed for Arsenal on the 13th of January 2006. Adebayor scored on his debut against Birmingham City on 4 February 2006. He scored 46 premier league goals for Arsenal before moving to Manchester City in 2009.
He scored on his debut against Blackburn with an 18-yard shot just 3 minutes into the match. Adebayor is remembered for his jubilation against his former side Arsenal after scoring in a 4-2 victory. Adebayor ran the full length of the pitch to jubilate in front of the Arsenal fans.
He scored 15 goals for Manchester City before he went on a loan to Real Madrid. On his return, he was sold to Tottenham Hotspur, scoring 35 goals. Adebayor joined Crystal Palace in 2016 scoring only one goal for the club.
He left the club with a total of 97 Premier League goals. Adebayor played last for Kayseripor in turkey.
#1 Didier Drogba – 104 Goals
Didier Yves Drogba Tebily, a big name in the history of Chelsea and the premier league, joined Chelsea in July 2004. Chelsea snapped him up for a club-record fee of £24 million. He became the most expensive Ivorian after the deal was done.
With his striking intelligence in the first season, he helped Chelsea win the Premier League. This came after 50 years of hopes and expectations. He was named in the FIFA world XI in 2007. He also became the first African player to score 100 premier league goals.
In March 2012, he moved to Shanghai Shenhua and Galatasaray respectively but returned in July 2014. Didier scored 104 goals in total for Chelsea. He also won the golden boot twice and crowned it all with 4 Premier League titles. Didier Drogba retired in 2018 at the age of 40.
He tops the list of the highest scoring Africans in the premier league history.
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