While the Premier League continues to be a breeding ground for some of the best domestic talents, over the years, several foreigners have also made a significant impact. Be it Sergio Aguero for Manchester City or Didier Drogba for Chelsea, there is no dearth of successful foreigners who have plied their trade with some of the best in the league.
With that in mind, here are 3 foreigners who are setting the Premier League on fire this term.
Prior to this season, Adama Traore, who currently plays for Wolves, had played in three Premier League campaigns – one with Wolves last season, one with Middlesbrough in 2016-17 and another with Aston Villa in 2015-16. In total, he featured in 66 matches, scoring just one goal and providing 3 assists.
Despite having a successful Championship campaign in the middle of those three seasons, he was never able to translate his form to the top flight – until now.
Adama Traore has blossomed into a crucial player for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side this season and he seems to finally be bringing the end product to his game that had been missing for so long. In hindsight, that truly was the main thing that was missing. He is blazing fast, ridiculously strong and is always making positive passes and runs – but he just wasn’t able to score goals.
Now, he is scoring and assisting goals frequently, and against some of the best sides in the Premier League as well. His goal and assist against Manchester City gave Wolves a platform to win the game and he scored twice in the reverse fixture against Pep Guardiola’s side back in early October as well.
At just 23, the fact that he has added a new dimension to his game means that he is ready for the next level.
At the beginning of the 2019/20 season, Youri Tielemans wasn’t quite firing on all cylinders. Possibly due to the amazingly high bar he set for himself when on loan from AS Monaco in the previous campaign, he initially struggled a tad.
Tielemans has recaptured that incredible form from 2018/19 in recent matches: directly involving himself in four goals in as many games. Alongside James Maddison in the midfield with the backing of interceptor Wilfred Ndidi – the trio is a force to reckon with. Even when compared with Liverpool’s trio of Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum and Fabinho, the Foxes’ men are arguably better.
With a pass success percentage of 87.6% to go along with an assist, Tielemans has blossomed in the Premier League this season. [Courtesy: Whoscored]
Steve Bruce’s side have exceeded almost all expectations and one player who has been vital to their form is Saint-Maximin.
Signed from Nice last summer, Allan Saint-Maximin has given Newcastle a series of electrifying performances, beating opposition defenders with his incredible pace.
His lightning pace does cause real problems for the opposition and in a Newcastle side that tends to defend deep and play on the counter, Saint-Maximin has been their standout performer this season.
The Magpies have relied heavily on the winger’s explosive dribbling ability to carry an offensive threat and without his presence, things could go downhill pretty soon.