Peter Ndlovu names his best African export to EPL

Peter Ndlovu has picked his best African player to feature in the English Premier League.

The former Zimbabwe international set the trend when he became the first African to play in the rebranded English top flight in 1992.

Ndlovu stayed at Coventry City until a £1.6m move to second-tier Birmingham City in 1997.

He also played at Huddersfield Town, on loan, and Sheffield United.

Since his first EPL game in 1992 , over 300 Africans have followed in his footsteps, including three fully capped Warriors internationals – Benjani Mwaruwari (retired), Marvelous Nakamba and Jordan Zemura.

The former Warriors captain scored thirty-four times in the English top flight, but the tally has since been far surpassed by other players.

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah now leads the way on 122 goals, Sadio Mane on 111 and former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba on 104.

“What I like about all the 300 that have come after me, you can say they’ve even added value and represented the continent very well,” Ndlovu told BBC.

“You can see how much the standards have gone up compared to the time when I started. It’s a very good league and we support it all the time.

“Also, with the large number of players playing in the Premier League, as well as all over the other leagues, it shows that Africa is the provider of some of the best players in the world.”

Ndlovu regards Yaya Toure as the best African export to the EPL so far.

The former Ivory Coast midfielder played for Manchester City for eight years, making over 250 appearances for the club.

“Yaya Toure represented Africa with pride,” the 49-year-old Mamelodi Sundowns team manager added.

“He was an all-rounder. What I liked about him was he could score, head, dribble and do everything. He was a complete player.”

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