[ 2017-05-11 ]

Top 5 Ghanaian players who excelled in the English Premier League
The Premier League has long remained a hotbed for
the best African players to ply their trade and
showcase their abilities, with Ghanaian stars
amongst those who have made a real name for
themselves in England.

A number of Kwesi Appiah’s current squad are
playing in what is considered one of the major
leagues in Europe, and while the likes of Daniel
Amartey, Jeffrey Schlupp and the Ayew brothers are
performing well in the Premier league this season,
they is every chance that future generations of
Black Star players follow in their footsteps as
clubs scour football academies across Ghana in the
hope of finding the next best thing. Any that do
move to England can only dream of having the same
impact that some of Ghana’s most illustrious
players have done in the Premier League, with
their performances remembered fondly by fans who
saw them play.

Tony Yeboah

While his presence and performances were a big
influence in changing the attitude towards black
footballers in the Bundesliga and paved the way
for other African stars to arrive in Germany
during the early 1990s, Tony Yeboah was still a
relatively unknown name to football fans in
England when he joined Leeds United for £3.4
million on January 1995 from Eintracht Frankfurt.
However, it soon became apparent that Howard
Wilkinson had unearthed a real gem in a player
that was crowned Bundelisga top goalscorer in 1993
and 1994. Thirteen goals in all competitions saw
Yeboah finish his first season in the Premier
League as Leeds United’s top scorer, but it was
the following year in which the striker showcased
his quality. Two outstanding goals against
Wimbledon and Liverpool (the former of which was
awarded BBC Goal of the Season) made everyone sit
up and take notice, with Yeboah earning a
reputation for his ability to score wonderful
goals.

Yeboah scored a total of twenty-four goals in
forty-seven Premier League appearances in a Leeds
United shirt, but while he was a firm favourite
with the fans, a clash of personalities with new
manager George Graham saw him return to the
Bundesliga with Hamburger SV in 1997. It was a sad
end for a player that will forever remain a Ghana
great, with the country’s third highest
goalscorer of all time proving that Yeboah made a
career from hitting the back of the net.

Asamoah Gyan

The current Black Stars captain is unquestionably
one of the best players to ever represent the
national team, with Asamoah Gyan not only the
highest scoring African player in World Cup
history with six goals, but also stands tall as
Ghana’s all-time leading goalscorer with
forty-nine to his name. His reputation as a proven
scorer was enough for Steve Bruce to take punt on
the striker in August 2010 by breaking
Sunderland’s transfer record to bring Gyan to
the Stadium of Light from Rennes for £13 million.
It proved to be a shrewd move, as Gyan played an
instrumental role in Sunderland finishing as high
as 10th in the Premier League. He finished his
debut season in England as the club’s
joint-highest scorer with eleven goals in all
competitions, with his performances catching the
eye of a number of clubs across the world. The
decision to accept a deal which saw Gyan move to
Al-Ain in September 2011 on a season-long loan (he
later joined the club on a permanent transfer) was
not popular with the fans, despite reports that
Sunderland received up to £6 million during the
loan period.

Sunderland could certainly do with Asamoah Gyan in
their team, with the club’s relegation from the
Premier League already confirmed. Bookmaker
Ratings may include them amongst the favourites to
bounce straight back up, but despite only
remaining at the Sunderland for just over a
season, Gyan certainly made his mark in England.

Michael Essien

Being nominated for the FIFA World Player of the
Year and Ballon d’Or awards three years in a row
illustrate just how good Michael Essien was at the
peak of his powers. The midfield enforcer, aptly
nicknamed ‘the Bison’ due to his considerable
strength and tough tackling ability, played a
prominent role in the golden generation of Ghana
players who led the country to their first ever
World Cup appearance in 2006. Although a number of
injuries prevented Essien from spending a longer
period at the top, Chelsea fans will never forget
the impact he made during his nine-year spell at
Stamford Bridge. His move from Lyon in August 2005
may have been protracted, but the £24.4 million
that Jose Mourinho spent not only made Essien the
then most expensive signing the club’s history,
but also the most expensive African player at that
time. He became a focal point in front of the back
four, with Essien lifting two Premier League
titles, three FA Cups and one League Cup during a
hugely successful period in Chelsea’s history.
Essien was also part of the Chelsea team who
finished runners-up to Manchester United in the
2008 Champions League Final.

Essien is currently plying his trade in the
Indonesia Super League with Persib Bandung, with
the 34-year-old hoping that his presence will lead
to other big-name players moving there. Chelsea,
who allowed the midfielder to move to AC Milan in
the summer of 2014, have not been as successful
since Essien left the club, but they appear on the
verge of winning the 2016/2017 Premier League
title. Antonio Conte’s team have already secured
European football for next season (the lowest they
can finish in the table is second), and
considering that they stand a good chance of being
named amongst the favourites to win the
competition in the Champions League tips on
Bookmaker Ratings, Chelsea would well lift the
trophy that Essien was unable to during many
wonderful years of service at the club.

Sulley Muntari


Portsmouth’s Premier League team of 2007/2008
will undoubtedly go down as one of the best in the
club’s history, with considerable investment in
the squad leading to a number of big name players
moving to Fratton Park. They won the FA Cup and
finished 8th in the table under the guidance of
Harry Redknapp, with Ghanaian creative midfielder
Sulley Muntari amongst those who really shone that
season. Signed from Udinese for £7.1 million,
Muntari scored four goals in twenty-nine league
appearances for the club, including two wonderful
strikes away at Aston Villa which illustrated his
considerable quality. The Black Stars
international, who has won 84 caps for his country
and is currently playing in Serie A for Pescara,
left Portsmouth after just one season to join
Inter Milan, but while the club entered
administration on two occasions and dropped down
the leagues as a result of mass overspending,
Muntari’s impact will always be remembered at
Fratton Park.

Kevin-Prince Boateng

Another player who was part of the Portsmouth
success story until things turned sour at the club
was Kevin-Prince Boateng, with the talented, yet
often controversial, midfielder arriving at
Fratton Park in 2009 after a disappointing
two-year spell at Tottenham Hotspur. Boateng, who
was born in Germany but changed international
allegiances to Ghana in 2010 – a switch which
saw him play for the Black Stars at the 2010 and
2014 World Cup, showcased his technical qualities
in a team that struggled for consistency.
Portsmouth finished bottom of the Premier League
table, but also lost in the FA Cup Final against
Chelsea; Boateng played a prominent role in their
route to Wembley, and also scored three goals in
twenty-two league appearances.

Boateng now finds himself at La Liga side Las
Palmas after spells with AC Milan and Schalke 04,
with the Black Stars player enjoying a good season
with nine goals in twenty-five appearances as the
Spanish side have already secured their place in
the Spanish top flight for another year.

Source - GHANAsoccernet.com

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