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Premier League has been home to many players from all over the world since it was formed in the early nineties.
Many players have demonstrated their skills in this league and rose to a very high level in their careers. Overseas players have contributed to the success of this league.
In this article, we take a look at some of the best Senegal players ever to grace in the Premier League.
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Late’Papa Bouba Diop
The Senegal star was one of the best midfielders in the history of Senegal. He was a strong and aggressive defensive midfielder whose playing style resembled the style of Patrick Vieira.
The 6’5 defender joined Fulham because of his impressive performance for RC Lens. He was one of the main players from the Fulham squad and he spent about 3 seasons before leaving for Portsmouth in 2007.
He won the FA cup in his debut season with Portsmouth. In the upcoming seasons, Diop struggled with various sorts of injuries forcing him to leave Portsmouth following their relegation.
He scored 8 goals in 129 appearances in his 8 years of presence in the league.
Henri Camara
The former Senegalese professional footballer started his career in Premier League playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers in the 2003-04 season.
Later, he went on to play for many Premier League clubs like Southampton, Wigan Athletic, West Ham, Stoke City, and Sheffield United.
He was a striker and a regular first-choice player for his team. Capable of creating goal-scoring opportunities, he was proving worthy for his team.
The forward had an impressive debut season, scoring seven league goals. His valiant efforts for his team became worthless as the Wolves were relegated in the 2003-04 season.
During his footballing career at Southampton, he gave many outstanding performances which made the club Wigan Athletic sign him on a permanent deal.
At Wigan, he played brilliantly and became fan’s favorite. His performance for Wigan in his first three seasons was exemplary under the coach Paul Jewell. But, after the departure of Paul, Camara failed to break into the first team.
He went on playing for West Ham United and Stoke City in the next couple of seasons as he was loaned by Wigan. But he was unable to rediscover his goalscoring performance.
Before retiring in 2018, Senegal forward went on to join Sheffield United and ended his Premier League career scoring 31 goals from 126 league appearances.
Papiss Demba Cisse
Cisse is one of the best goalscorers for Newcastle United in the past decade. Playing for only one Premier League club, Cisse’s time in the league was short and exciting.
After his brilliant performance for the German club Freiburg, Cisse was signed by Newcastle during the 2011-12 transfer window.
His career at St. James’ Park was thrilling as he scored 13 goals in his first fourteen appearances. Due to this respective contribution to his team, Newcastle finished fifth in the Premier League.
His curling half-volley goal against Chelsea in the 2011-12 season is ranked as one of the best goals ever scored in the Premier League.
The following seasons ruined the career of Cisse as he suffered from injuries. During his five seasons at St. James’ Park, Cisse made about 120 league appearances and scored about 40 goals for the club.
Cheikhou Kouyate
Kouyate is one of the best midfielder from Senegal to play in the Premier League. He joined West Ham United from RSC Anderlecht in 2014.
His time at West Ham was quite brilliant as he was one of the most consistent performers for the club and was the most selected player for West Ham.
He spent 4 years playing for West Ham with over 30 appearances in each season. Surprisingly, he moved to Crystal Palace for less than 10 million pounds.
He was equally able to play both as a midfielder and center-back. Kouyate continued where he left off in West Ham as he was a regular player for Palace. His performance was consistent for Palace giving him regular chances for playing.
Kouyate has over 200 league appearances. He is currently playing for newly promoted Premier League team Nottingham Forrest, as he left Palace in 2022.
Mohamed Diame
With over 200 Premier League appearances, Mohamed Diame is one of the best Senegal midfielders of all time.
Mohamed Diame joined Wigan Athletic in 2009 on a three-year contract. He spent about 3 seasons with Wigan and was one of the most consistent players. He left Wigan at the end of the 2011-12 season and joined West Ham.
He appeared in about 75 games for West Ham in his first two seasons. He left West Ham in the 2014-15 season and joined Hull City.
The Senegal midfielder rarely made any appearances in the first season for Hull City as he suffered from injuries. The next season was quite remarkable for Diame as well as for Hull City as they were promoted to Premier League.
Although the team was promoted to Premier League, Diame chose to play for the relegated team Newcastle United.
Newcastle was promoted in the first season and Diame was a regular part of the team for two seasons. He left the club at the end of the 2018-19 season as his contract expired and the club refused to renew his contract.
Idrissa Gueye
After five successful seasons with the French club Lille, Gueye arrived in England to join Aston Villa in 2015. The Senegal midfielder was one of the bright spots in the team although it was a horrible season for Aston Villa as they suffered their first-ever relegation in the Premier League era.
Although though the team suffered relegation, the midfielder did not go unnoticed as Everton signed him in the 2016 season.
Gueye was arguably the best player for the team during his 3 seasons. In the 2016 calendar year, he made the highest number of tackles and interceptions per match across Europe’s top five leagues. He became the first player in Europe’s top five leagues to win 100 tackles in the 2016-17 season.
He was one of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League during his time in England. He signed for the French club, Paris-Saint German in 2019 becoming one of the best African midfielders ever to grace the Premier League.
Demba Ba
The second highest goalscorer from Senegal in the Premier League, Ba joined West Ham leaving German club 1899 Hoffenheim in January 2011.
Ba was part of the West Ham team that was relegated at the end of the 2010-11 season. He scored seven goals in his first twelve league appearances, but could not rescue the team from relegation.
The Senegal international moved to Newcastle following the relegation of West Ham just after six months after his arrival in England. The impact of Ba at Newcastle was watchable. He scored 16 goals in his debut season for Newcastle which helped them finish 5th in the table.
Ba had the same rhythm in the following season as he scored 13 goals in the first 20 league matches. Surprisingly, in the transfer window 2012-13 season, Ba left Newcastle to play for Chelsea.
However, he was never the same after he left Newcastle. The forward could not score many goals as per the expectations and only managed to score 7 goals from his 33 appearances.
He could not adapt his career at Chelsea. Following the performance of Ba, Chelsea signed Diego Costa which forced Ba to leave the club even though he wanted to stay.
Sadio Mane
Sadio Mane is truly the best African footballer of the present time. His time at the Premier League was truly remarkable.
The Senegal international always remain fit and played almost every match for his team without getting injured.
Known for his dribbling, pace, and finishing, Mane arrived in England to join Southampton in 2014. He quickly established himself as one of the best players in the squad full of potential to show up.
The Senegal forward registered a Premier League record of scoring the fastest hat-trick which he scored in mere 176 seconds against Aston Villa in 2015. In his 67 appearances for Southampton, Mane scored 21 goals.
He joined Liverpool in 2016 where he established himself as a true legend during the Jurgen Klopp era. He became a prominent member of the team and helped Liverpool in clinching every possible trophy including the 2018-19 season UEFA Champions league.
Mane had a huge impact in ending Liverpool’s 30-year title drought by winning the 2019-20 Premier League. In October 2021, Mane scored his 100th goal in Premier League becoming only the 3rd African player to reach that landmark.
His wonderful career at Liverpool came to an end as he left Liverpool to play for the German club Bayern Munich. He truly is the best African ever to grace in Premier League.
