Revealed: Premier League’s top African star in each stat category

Mohamed Salah tops this category for African players, and indeed across the Premier League, as he ended the campaign with 23 goals—tied in top spot overall with Son Heung-min.

The Egypt superstar’s haul wins him his third Premier League Golden Boot as he becomes the first African player to top the scoring charts in three separate PL campaigns.

Salah again leads the way here, having registered 13 assists throughout the campaign. It’s again the most of any player in the division during the course of the season, as the Liverpool sensation becomes only the fourth player in Prem history to lead both the goal charts and the assists charts in a single campaign.

Edouard Mendy was in action for 3060 minutes across the course of the campaign, with the goalkeeper starting 34 of Chelsea’s 38 matches.

This was level with the likes of Aaron Ramsdale and Virgil van Dijk, although Mendy was someway off David de Gea and Hugo Lloris who both led the way after being in action for 3420 minutes during the season.

Yves Bissouma tops Africa’s disciplinary charts during 2021-22 after picking up 10 yellow cards during the course of the campaign.

This is only one lower than James Tarkowski, Tyrone Mings and Junior Firpo, all of whom were booked on 11 occasions.

Ezri Konsa, who remains eligible for Angola or the Democratic Republic of Congo, was shown two red cards during the course of the campaign.

No one in the division received more, although Konsa wasn’t alone in being dismissed twice, as Wolverhampton Wanderers talisman Raul Jimenez was also sent to the showers early on two occasions.

Emmanuel Dennis, Hassane Kamara, Mohammed Salisu and Wilfred Zaha were the four African players who were sent off once during 21-22.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Salah leads the way here as well.

The forward averaged four shots per game, putting him at the top of the overall standing, although clearly his Golden Boot suggests that his determination to have an effort at goal clearly paid off.

Cristiano Ronaldo was Salah’s closest ‘challenger’, having averaged 3.7 shots per game during the year.

Admittedly someway behind Allan Saint-Maximin, who led the way with an average of 4.3 successful take-ons per match, but Zaha’s own average of 2.3 per match wasn’t too shabby.

The Ivorian—in his prime at 29—also enjoyed his best ever season in front of goal, with 14 goals scored in the Premier League.

Such a key figure in Liverpool’s title charge, Joel Matip averaged 3.5 aerial battles won during the course of the season, putting him sixth in the league overall.

Some may argue that Matip even eclipsed his defensive partner Virgil van Dijk as the Reds pushed City close, and certainly the Cameroon centre-back was more dominant in the air than his teammate.

Daniel Amartey is coming off the back of his best season in the English game, making 28 appearances for Leicester City and finally evading injury for a campaign.

He also played a critical role in the Foxes’ using the ball effectively, with his 90.7-percent pass-success rate putting him inside the top 10 in the division.

Indeed, Amartey’s precision with the ball at his feet puts him eighth in the overall standings in the league, one of only three non-Manchester City players in the top eight.

There won’t be any surprises here, as Amartey’s Leicester City teammate Wilfred Ndidi again leads the standings here.

He may have only made 19 appearances during an injury-hit year, but the Super Eagle still averaged 3.2 tackles per game, reaffirming why he belongs alongside N’Golo Kante and Idrissa Gueye as the best defensive midfielders of the Prem’s last few years.

Ndidi was sorely missed after being injured against Stade Rennais in mid-March.

It was a difficult maiden season in the top flight for Hassane Kamara, whose Watford side were relegated, but he nonetheless demonstrated why he could yet be a success in English football.

An average of 3.6 interceptions per match is the best in the whole division, and Kamara deserves immense credit for his ability to read the game and ease the pressure on his fellow defenders.