Since the Premier League’s founding in 1992, 13 Canadians have made their way onto the pitch for one of the division’s vaunted clubs.
The count is quite low, but with the national team continuing to improve and the Premier League being a transfer market powerhouse, more players are expected to make the switch to the UK down the line.
For now, these are the best Canadian players to play in the Premier League.
Tomasz Radzinski
Born in the city of Poznań in Poland, Tomasz Radzinski came to Canada as a 17-year-old to play in the soon-to-be-defunct Canadian Soccer League.
From 1990 to 1994, he played soccer in Canada, debuting for the national team in 1995. After impressing for Canada, Germinal Ekeren in Belgium, and Anderlecht, the winger earned his Premier League switch.
Everton broke the record for a fee paid to get a Canadian player at £4.5 million in 2001, and from there, Radzinski would play 91 games and score 25 goals for Everton, as well as 102 games and ten goals for Fulham afterwards.
Radzinski ended his career with 44 caps and ten goals for Canada, and remains the record holder for games and goals from a Canadian in the Premier League.
Junior Hoilett
Born in Brampton, Ontario, Junior Hoilett impressed at international youth competitions to the point that several Premier League clubs came knocking. Aged 13, he moved to the UK to sign for Blackburn Rovers.
The winger made his way up the ranks at Blackburn – a team he chose over Manchester United – and ended up playing 81 Premier League games for the club.
With 12 goals and seven assists, Hoilett then made the switch to Queens Park Rangers to continue playing in the top flight, and would go on to Cardiff City to add another few goals to his record.
Across the years with Blackburn, Cardiff, and QPR, the Canadian attacker put up 17 goals and 12 assists in the Premier League en route to tallying 161 games.
He hasn’t played in the Premier League for years, but Hoilett remains a key piece of the national team, even being one of the top performers at the last FIFA World Cup.
Scott Arfield
A core component of the necessary low-cost, high-effort build of Burnley FC, Scottish-born midfielder Scott Arfield helped Burnley achieve promotion to the Premier League and keep them there.
In the Premier League alone, Arfield put up five goals and three assists in 86 games, but would also play in the Europa League and Champions League for Rangers.
On the international stage, the midfielder made his way through the youth teams of Scotland but pivoted to Canada via his Toronto-born father.
For Les Rouges, Arfield scored twice in his 19 caps and now plays for Charlotte FC in the MLS, so he can still be found in the live betting online markets.
Simeon Jackson
Simeon Jackson was born in Jamaica but moved to Mississauga, Ontario as a youngster. However, it didn’t take him long to then move to the UK to progress as a soccer star.
After scoring buckets of goals in the lower tiers and being named male soccer player of the year, Jackson earned a move to Norwich City in the Championship as a 23-year-old, for whom he’d score the goal that would seal the Canaries’ promotion to the Premier League.
Norwich City weren’t longed for the highest tier of English football, but Jackson would feature often.
In 35 games – mostly as a substitute – the Canadian striker managed to score four goals and set up four more.
Paul Stalteri
Paul Stalteri’s stint in the Premier League started rather strongly, and the full-back would eventually play 55 goals for Tottenham Hotspur and while out on loan to Fulham.
Unfortunately, during one of the best seasons Spurs had experienced for quite some time, the Canadian would barely feature, but he would get to see his club raise the League Cup trophy.
For Canada, he was a staple. Over 84 caps, he scored seven goals, and now, he’s returned to his home city of Toronto.
Stalteri is currently the Toronto FC assistant manager, but based on the MLS odds, he’s got a lot of work to do to bring the team into trophy contention once more.
David Edgar
Kitchener native David Edgar made 41 appearances for his country and scored four goals, but his time in the Premier League was fairly brief.
Impressively, Edgar was offered a deal by Manchester United as a talented youth, but he decided to stay in Canada, where he could also continue to excel as a hockey talent.
Aged 14, he finally committed to soccer and joined Newcastle United, making his way through the youth system before debuting for the Toon in 2006.
He’d feature for Newcastle United on 19 occasions, scoring twice from the centre-back position before moving to Burnley, where he rarely got a shot in the Premier League.
Craig Forrest
One of the earliest Canadians to play in the Premier League, goalkeeper Craig Forrest competed in the top flight for three different clubs from the 1992/93 season onwards.
The towering 1.96m shot-stopper from Coquitlam, British Columbia, collected 107 games for Ipswich Town, West Ham United, and Chelsea – although, he’d only feature between the posts three times in the league for Chelsea.
Those are the best Canadian players to ever play in the Premier League. Still, if the transfer rumour mill is anything to go by, it might not be long before even better Canadian talents emerge in the big-money division.
*Credit for all images in this article belongs to AP Photo*
