5 highest-scoring foreign players in Premier League history
The Premier League has provided an attractive platform for non-English players to test themselves in one of the best leagues in the world. As such, some of the finest performers in the history of football have been part of the league.
In fact, some of the top Premier League clubs have richly benefited because of the presence of such fine foreign players. More often than not, the best of foreigners don't take much time to adapt to the league either.
Premier League has seen some fine foreign goal-machines
There has never been a shortage of goals in the Premier League due to the presence of some quality foreign finishers. One such example is that of Ruud van Nistelrooy. The Dutchman was unstoppable when on song and used to score at will.
More recently, the likes of Sergio Aguero and Mohamed Salah come to mind while talking about prolific foreign forwards. Without further ado, let's have a look at the best foreign goalscorers in the history of the Premier League:
#5 Robbie Keane (126 goals)
Having come up through the ranks at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Robbie Keane came on to the scene in 1997. The Irish striker was then wanted by Premier League club Coventry City, for which he signed in the summer of 1999.
After scoring 12 goals for Coventry in a single season, he was immediately signed by Inter Milan the following season. Unfortunately with the sacking of the then Inter manager Marcello Lippi, Keane was deemed surplus to the Italian club's requirements. He was loaned out to Leeds United in December 2000 for the remainder of the season.
Following his impressive performances, the former Wolves striker was able to make his move permanent with the Whites. As Leeds struggled with their debt, they were compelled to sell quite a few players, including Robbie Keane, who signed for Tottenham Hotspur.
🎂 Happy 41st Birthday for One of Our Own, #RobbieKeane 🇮🇪!!!
📊 Robbie Keane's overall senior stats for Tottenham Hotspur F.C. in his football career:
Appearances: 305
Goals: 122
Assists: 25
Minutes of Playing: 21.343
#THFC #COYS
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Keane played with Spurs for six seasons then, winning the club's Player of the Year award thrice. He primarily played as a striker but was capable of playing almost anywhere along the front line. He was more than impressive at Spurs, which encouraged Liverpool to sign him in the summer of 2008.
Unfortunately, the move did not work out well for the Irishman as he returned to the north London club after spending a year and a half with the Reds. Post that, Keane spent some time with Spurs and went out on loan to Celtic, West Ham United and Aston Villa before returning in November 2018. In his amazing career in the Premier League, the former Liverpool striker scored 126 goals.
#4 Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (127 goals)
Having started his career in the Netherlands, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink spent quite some time in the Portuguese league before moving to the Premier League in 1997. He was signed by Leeds United from Boavista to play under manager George Graham.
Initially, the Dutch forward struggled to adapt in the Premier League but it was not the same the following season. In his second season in England, Hasselbaink scored 18 goals in 36 league appearances, winning his first Premier League Golden Boot. The award was shared by him, Michael Owen and Dwight Yorke that season.
The following season, Hasselbaink was signed by Atletico Madrid, for whom he scored 24 goals in 34 league games. Unfortunately, the Spanish club were relegated in the 1999-2000 season, which saw the Dutchman join Chelsea in 2000. In his very first season with the Blues, he scored 23 goals in the league, winning his career's second Premier League Golden Boot award.
Happy Birthday to Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink!
His stats from his time at Chelsea:
Matches: 156
Goals: 88
Top class player back in the day. https://t.co/fwJEEmJwX0
Hasselbaink continued his impressive form with the London club, spending four seasons with them. He then joined Middlesbrough in 2004 and signed for Charlton two seasons later before retiring in 2008. He scored 127 goals in the Premier League, becoming one of the best goalscorers in the history of the competition.