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The Premier League saw Mohamed Salah go on a rampage during Liverpool's game against Manchester United at Old Trafford last weekend. The Egyptian scored a thrilling hat-trick to silence the Red Devils on their home turf.
Salah is the perfect example of how far African players have come in football and some of the best players in the football world come from there now. The Premier League also has some fine African players and it is only a blessing to have the best of them play in such a high-quality league.
Premier League is used to high-scoring African players
In the history of the Premier League, there have been some iconic African players who have enhanced the quality of football. Yaya Toure, Michael Essien, John Obi Mikel, Kolo Toure and many others have graced the league in the past with their amazing talents.
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Many of the African players have been quite effective in front of goal and scored a significant amount of goals in the history of the Premier League. On that note, let's take a look at the top goal-scoring African players in the league:
#5 Ayegbeni Yakubu (95 goals)
With some impressive performances while playing for Maccabi Haifa, Ayegbeni Yakubu earned a move to the Premier League, joining Portsmouth initially on loan in 2003. He took his opportunity well and scored 16 goals in the league in his very first season before making the move permanent.
His superb spell with Portsmouth continued for the second season following which he signed for Middlesbrough. In his two seasons with Boro, Yakubu scored 25 goals in 71 Premier League appearances. In 2007, the Nigerian joined Everton and went on to play four seasons for the Toffees.
Yakubu then went on to join Leicester City in the Championship and after a season returned to the Premier League to play for Blackburn. In his 252 league appearances, the striker scored 95 goals.
#4 Emmanuel Adebayor (97 goals)
Emmanuel Adebayor is a well-known name in the Premier League, though not always for the best of reasons. The Togolese signed for Arsenal from Monaco in 2006 and was touted to replicate Nwankwo Kanu.
Then Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger highly rated the tall striker. Adebayor did have a good spell with the Gunners in the Premier League, scoring 46 goals in 104 appearances. In the 2007-08 season, he went on to score 24 goals in the league, which helped him win the 2008 African Player of the Year award.
He then joined Manchester City in 2009 but played with them for hardly two seasons. After a loan move to Real Madrid, Adebayor joined Tottenham Hotspur in 2011. This move certainly did not go down well with the Arsenal fanbase. He played four seasons with Spurs and then a season with Crystal Palace. In his 242 Premier League appearances, Adebayor scored 97 goals.
#3 Sadio Mane (100 goals)
The Premier League has seen a lot of goals ever since Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah started playing together. Under Jurgen Klopp's management, the trio have run riots in the league when on song.
Mane arrived in the Premier League after being signed by Southampton from Red Bull Salzburg in 2014. Courtesy of the Senegalese's impressive performance on the wings, Liverpool were tempted to sign him. Notably, he scored 21 goals and registered 11 assists while playing for the Saints in the Premier League.
The Reds were successful in signing him in 2016 and since then Mane has been a massive asset for the Merseyside club. He won the Premier League Golden Boot in the 2018-19 season, scoring 22 goals. To date, has scored 100 goals in the league, and given he's only four goals behind second position, he should move up the list by the end of this season.
#2 Didier Drogba (104 goals)
Didier Drogba is the only player on this list to have played for only a single Premier League club. The Ivorian signed for Chelsea in 2004 to play under Jose Mourinho.
The tall striker was effective from the onset as he scored goals at regular intervals for the Blues. With his strength and amazing aerial abilities, Drogba was a beast in the box. He won the Premier League in his first two seasons itself. Under Mourinho, the Ivory Coast forward developed into one of the best strikers in the league.
His performances helped win the African Footballer of the year in 2006 and 2009. Drogba won the Premier League Golden Boot twice, in the 2006-07 and 2009-10 seasons. He returned for a season with Chelsea in the 2014-15 season where he won his fourth league title with the Blues. In his 254 league appearances, the Chelsea legend netted 104 goals.
#1 Mohamed Salah (107 goals)
It is safe to say that Chelsea made a massive mistake when they let Mohamed Salah go in 2016. The former Basel forward has grown into one of the best players in the Premier League right now.
After leaving Chelsea permanently in 2016, Salah joined Roma where he rediscovered his form. This helped him earn a move to Liverpool which drastically changed things for the Merseyside club. Since his arrival, the Egyptian has been an immense player for the Reds, significantly contributing in goals every season.
Salah has played a key role in helping Liverpool win the Premier League in the 2018-19 season and remains their best player on the pitch. With his mind-boggling dribbling skills and amazing knack for finding goals, the winger has been sensational for the Reds.
He won African Footballer of the Year twice in 2017 and 2018. Salah also won the Premier League Golden Boot in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons. He remains a goal-scoring threat every time Liverpool attack and that's what makes him a lethal player. In his 167 Premier League appearances to date, the Egyptian winger has scored 107 goals, the most by an African player.
