Which Ivory Coast player has made the most Premier League appearances? | OneFootball

Some of Africa’s best players have hailed from the Ivory Coast, and we are lucky enough to have seen the majority of those stars play in the Premier League.

Whether it be Didier Drogba at Chelsea or Yaya Toure at Manchester City, the Elephants have provided some top players who have produced plenty of magnificent moments.

35 players from the country have played in the English top flight, and of course, some have enjoyed far more success than others.

Who tops the list?

Many of the usual suspects appear towards the very top of the list. Wilfried Zaha, who has played for three top-tier outfits, sits in second place, with Drogba, Toure and Salomon Kalou all quick on his heels.

Cheick Tiote, who tragically passed away aged just 30 in 2017, is sixth, while Emmanuel Eboue, Wilfried Bony, Willy Boly and Didier Zokora round up the top ten.

It is Yaya’s brother and former teammate Kolo, though, who sits at the summit.

Who did Toure play for in the Premier League?

Toure moved to Arsenal in 2002 from Ivorian club ASEC Mimosas, and became a key member of Arsene Wenger‘s back four for the next seven years.

At the end of the 2000s and start of the 2010s, a number of Gunners stars made the switch to Man City as they went in pursuit of more success. Toure was part of this group and was reunited with his brother at the Etihad Stadium. He spent four seasons there between 2009 and 2013.

He then ended his Premier League career at Liverpool, where he played for three seasons as a bit-part player before departing for Celtic north of the border.

What are Toure’s Premier League stats?

Toure made 353 Premier League appearances throughout his career, and is the only man from the Ivory Coast to have played more than 300 times in the division.

He featured 37 times during the 2003/04 season for Arsenal, a campaign during which they famously went unbeaten as they won the league title, and played 14 times as City clinched their first Premier League triumph in 2012/13.

He contributed to 108 clean sheets, scored 12 goals and provided ten assists. Despite being a central defender, he picked up just one red card and 30 yellow cards.

Toure has recently embarked on his managerial career, and was appointed as Wigan Athletic boss in November as the Latics struggled towards the bottom of the Championship.

It has not been the best of starts – he is still waiting for his first win after five games, having lost four – but he will be hoping things turn around quickly.