The Five Croatian Stars Who Have The Most Appearances In The Premier League

David Tully

3 years ago

Categories: Galleries, Manchester City News

Tags: Arsenal, aston villa, Chelsea, Everton, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Sheffield United, Southampton, spurs, West Ham, wolves

After focusing on the top appearance makers in the Premier League era from Belgium last week, this time we will be looking at players from Croatia.

The country only became a recognised nation in 1991 following the breakup of Yugoslavia but it has developed some very talented stars over the past three decades.

A number of Croatians have gone on to have great careers in England, with half a dozen or so racking up 100 or more games in the top-flight.

Press the next page as we go through the Croatians who have made the most appearances in Premier League history.

5) Nikica Jelavic (Everton, Hull and West Ham) – 114 apps

After two excellent seasons with Rangers, Everton snapped up the Croatian striker for £5m in the 2012 January transfer window. He made a strong first impression, scoring nine goals in his first 13 league games in the second half of the 2012/13 season.

However, the goals didn’t flow so smoothly during his second and third campaigns, and he moved to Hull in 2014. After two years with the Tigers and another six months with West Ham, he made the switch to China before retiring from professional football earlier this month.

4) Vedran Corluka (Manchester City and Spurs) – 119 apps

The Croatian defender spent one season with the Citizens in 2007/08 before making the £8.5m move to Tottenham. He spent four years in London, helping them to finish runners up to Manchester United in the League Cup in 2009.

After a spell with Bayer Leverkusen on loan, Corluka left Spurs on a permanent basis in 2012, making the switch to Lokomotiv Moscow where he has spent the last nine years.

3) Luka Modric (Spurs) – 127 apps

The midfielder was already an extremely talented playmaker when he started life at Dinamo Zagreb and Spurs shelled out £16.5m on the player in 2008 knowing they had a star on their hands.

Over the next four years, Modric became a key player as Harry Redknapp guided the team to two fourth-place finishes. However, the lure of a move to Real Madrid proved too much and he left for Spain in 2012.

2) Niko Kranjcar (Portsmouth, Spurs and QPR) – 154 apps

The winger was a skilful player and he made his name during a four-year stint with Portsmouth. His former Pompey manager Harry Redknapp then decided to sign him for Spurs in 2009.

Kranjcar played regularly during his first campaign at White Hart Lane but he was increasingly utilised as a squad player. He departed for Dynamo Kyiv before Redknapp came calling once again in 2013, spending two seasons on loan with QPR.

1) Dejan Lovren (Southampton and Liverpool) – 162 apps

After an excellent first season with Southampton in 2013-14, the centre-back attracted the attention of Liverpool, who spent £20m to bring him to Anfield.

Despite some high profile errors, Lovren spent six seasons with the Reds, reaching two Champions League finals, winning one, and helping to secure the club’s first league title in 30 years.