Ranking the 5 greatest Asian players in Premier League history

Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City - UEFA Champions League Quarter Final: First Leg
Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City - UEFA Champions League Quarter Final: First Leg

The Premier League has always been comprised of players from different corners of the world. England's top-tier football has consistently been an attractive platform for a lot of players globally. To date, the major footballing nations have all had at least one player play in the Premier League at some point.

Some fine Asian players have graced the Premier League

Lately, we have seen a lot of African and South American players arrive in the Premier League and do amazingly well. Asian players, on the other hand, aren't seen as much when compared to others. That being said, the future of Asian footballers looks promising and we might soon see a flurry of them arrive in the Premier League.

Despite having seen fewer players from Asia, there have been some memorable players from the continent who have graced the Premier League. Sometimes, it has so happened that some of them have not got the recognition they deserve, but definitely did serve their purpose to the respective club.

On that note, let's take a look at the five greatest Asian players to have played in the Premier League:


#5 Maya Yoshida (Japan)

Maya Yoshida (Right) playing for Southampton
Maya Yoshida (Right) playing for Southampton

The Nagasaki-born centre-back graduated from Nagoya Grampus in Japan. He was promoted to the senior team in 2007. After spending three seasons with the Gampus, Maya Yoshida signed for VVV-Venlo to play in the first tier of Dutch football back then.

When Yoshida arrived at VVV-Venlo, he already had his compatriot Keisuke Honda at the club. In fact, Honda was influential in bringing quite a few Japanese players to the Dutch club. Yoshida performed well with the Yellow Black Army, which eventually resulted in a move to the Premier League in 2012.

Southampton had just returned to the top tier of football in England in 2012, which encouraged the Saints to go after Yoshida's signature. The transfer fee was around £3 million. Yoshida spent eight seasons with Southampton in which he played as a centre-back, right-back and left-back, depending upon the need.

The Japanese centre-back has made 154 appearances for the Saints, scoring six goals in the Premier League. When on song, Yoshida looked like a very reliable defender to have in the team. His versatility to play in different positions at the back was a big plus for Southampton.

During Yoshida's tenure at Southampton, the club managed to finish in the top eight for four consecutive seasons. He remains the only Japanese player to make more than 150 appearances in the Premier League.


#4 Ki Sung-yueng (South Korea)

Swansea City v Chelsea - Premier League
Swansea City v Chelsea - Premier League

Ki Sung-yueng started his football career with FC Seoul in South Korea. After spending three seasons with the club, the central midfielder joined Celtic in the summer of 2009. Ki was quite impressive with the Scottish giants as he helped them win the Scottish Premier League in the 2011-12 season.

He had impressive passing range and a good reading of the game from midfield. His ability to play both a central midfielder as well as a defensive midfielder proved to be very useful for his teams. Ki also had a knack for scoring some fine long range goals. Taking all this potential into consideration, Swansea signed the South Korean for around £6 million in 2012.

Ki made a good start to his Premier League campaign as his passing abilities attracted a lot of praise in his first season. Surprisingly, he was sent on loan to Sunderland the following season, where he played 27 games and scored thrice.

After returning from loan, Ki spent four more seasons with Swansea City. The Swans were relegated in the 2017-18 season, following which Ki joined Newcastle United in the Premier League. Unfortunately, with injuries and a change in management, the former Celtic midfielder struggled with regular involvement on Tyneside.

He left for Mallorca in 2020, ending his Premier League stint. Ki has made 187 appearances in England's top division, the highest for any South Korean so far.

#3 Sun Jihai (China)

Sun Jihai playing for Manchester City
Sun Jihai playing for Manchester City

The Premier League's first ever East Asian goalscorer was Sun Jihai. The Chinese defender began his career playing for Dalian Shide in 1995. During his tenure with Dalian, Jihai won four league titles and the Chinese FA Cup once with the club. He was sent on loan at Crystal Palace during the 1998-99 season but was recalled the following season as Dalian struggled in the league.

Jihai made history in 2002 when he joined Manchester City in the Premier League, becoming the first Asian to play for the club. The Chinese centre-back made 151 appearances for Manchester City across all competitions, booking a significant place in the club's history.

After playing six seasons in the Premier League, Jihai signed for Sheffield United in the Championship but played there only for a season. He then returned to China and played for as many as four new clubs until he retired in 2016.


#2 Son Heung-min (South Korea)

Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea FC - Premier League
Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea FC - Premier League

Son Heung-min is a well-known player in the Premier League these days. His partnership with Harry Kane at Tottenham last season was a delight to watch for. Son graduated from Hamburger SV's academy in Germany. He played for the Hamburger SV senior team for three seasons until 2013 before joining Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.

Son was a lively player for the German club and his role was important in securing their spot in the 2014-15 UEFA Champions League. Son made 62 appearances and scored 21 goals for Bayer Leverkusen after which he made the switch to the Premier League by joining Tottenham in the 2015-16 season.

Since then, Son has become a very important player for the London club. The South Korean forward has popped up with some crucial goals when desperately needed. Till date, Son has scored 72 goals for Spurs in 200 Premier League appearances, winning the Player of the Season for Spurs in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 season.

He was also named in the 2020-21 PFA Premier League Team of the Year. Son is arguably one of the finest forwards in the Premier League right now. With time on his side, the South Korean forward can still achieve a lot more in England.


#1 Park Ji-sung (South Korea)

Manchester City v Manchester United - Premier League
Manchester City v Manchester United - Premier League

Park Ji-sung is the most successful player in Asian history. He started his career playing football in the Japanese league with Kyoto Purple Sanga. In 2003, Park signed for PSV Eindhoven.

Courtesy of his stellar performances in the UEFA Champions League for the Dutch side, Park earned his dream move to Manchester United in the Premier League in 2005.

Park was signed by Manchester United in 2005, making him the second East Asian to play for the Red Devils after Dong Fangzhou. The South Korean was technically sound enough to play anywhere in the midfield. The best part about his game-play was his work-rate. Because of his relentless and tireless work-rate, he was nicknamed "Three-Lungs" Park.

Recently, former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was full of praise for the former PSV midfielder. The Scottish manager went on to comment that United would have won the 2011 UEFA Champions League final had he put Park to mark Lionel Messi. It is a regret that Ferguson still has from his managerial career.

In his seven seasons at Manchester United, Park won the Premier League four times, the Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup. He made 204 appearances for Manchester United in all competitions and was quite an underrated player during his Premier League tenure.

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Edited by Nived Zenith