10 Great Premier League one-season wonders of the decade (2010-2019)

#8 Nikica Jelavic

For half a season, Nikica Jelavic was one of the Premier League's deadliest marksmen

Like Papiss Cisse, it’s probably fair to say that Croatian striker Nikica Jelavic should be considered more of a half-season wonder rather than a one-season wonder. Jelavic had already scored 14 goals in the Scottish Premier League for Rangers in 2011-12 when David Moyes paid £5m to bring him to Everton in that season’s January transfer window, and to say he continued his good form would be an understatement.

Jelavic scored his first goal for Everton in his first start for the team – a 1-0 win over Tottenham – and from there he kept on finding the net, becoming the first Toffees player to score in five successive away games since 1977-78, and then becoming the quickest Everton player to reach 10 goals for the club since 1912.

The Croatian was named the Premier League’s Player of the Month for April 2012, and ended the season with a total of 11 goals in just 16 games across all competitions. Unfortunately, despite playing more than double the games in the following season, he failed to reach that total again, and after nine goalless league games in 2013-14, was loaned to Hull City – where he only found the net 4 times.

A permanent move to the KOCM Stadium followed, but his struggles in front of goal continued and after a failed stint at West Ham, Jelavic moved to the China in 2016 – where he finally managed to beat his initial return of goals at Everton, albeit across 29 games instead of just 16.