Tottenham Hotspur's Heung-min Son became the first Asian player to win the Premier League Golden Boot in the 2021-22 season...
Since Park-ji Sung made a name for himself at Manchester United, several Asian players have made an impact in the Premier League in the past one and a half decades.
Players from Japan, South Korea, China and even Oman have featured in the league with some players making it really big in the country.
Park's compatriot Heung-min Son, off late, has been one of the most prominent faces in the league with some stellar shows in Tottenham Hotspur's jersey.
Son is the first Asian player to score 50 goals in the Premier League and most recently he became the first player from the continent to win the Golden Boot award jointly with Mohamed Salah scoring 23 goals in the season.
There have been only four Asian players in the past who have managed to win the Premier League title. Park won the league four times with Manchester United while Japanese midfielder Shinji Kagawa won it with the Red Devils in 2012-13. Japanese forwards Shinji Okazaki and Takumi Minamino also won the league once each. Okazaki famously won it with Leicester City in 2015-16 and Minamino won the league with Liverpool in 2019-20.
Unlike his predecessor in South Korea who won every major trophy multiple times with the Red Devils, Son is yet to win a trophy with Spurs. But at an individual level, he has achieved a lot, like winning the FIFA Puskas Award, Premier League Golden Boot Award and being named Tottenham's Player of the Season on more than one occasion.
10. Park Ji-sung
Country: South Korea
Club: Manchester United, Queens Park Rangers
Position: Midfielder
Stint: 2005-12, 2012-13
Matches: 154
Goals: 19
Trophies: Premier League (2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11) Football League Cup (2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10), FA Community Shield (2007, 2008, 2010, 2011), UEFA Champions League (2007–08), FIFA Club World Cup (2008)
9. Son Heung-min
Country: South Korea
Club: Tottenham Hotspur
Position: Forward
Matches: 232
Goals: 93
Stint: 2015-present
Trophies: None
8. Shinji Okazaki
Country: Japan
Club: Leicester City
Position: Forward
Stint: 2015-2019
Matches: 114
Goals: 14
Trophies: Premier League (2015-16)
7. Shinji Kagawa
Country: Japan
Club: Manchester United
Position: Midfielder
Stint: 2012-2015
Matches: 38
Goals: 6
Trophies: Premier League (2012-13), FA Community Shield (2013)
6. Takumi Minamino
Country: Japan
Club: Liverpool
Position: Forward
Stint: 2019-present
Matches: 30
Goals: 4
Trophies: Premier League (2019–20), FA Cup (2021–22), EFL Cup (2021–22)
5. Ali Al-Habsi
Country: Oman
Club: Bolton Wanderers, Wigan Athletic
Position: Goalkeeper
Stint: 2005-10, 2010-15
Matches: 111
Trophies: FA Cup
4. Maya Yoshida
Country: Japan
Club: Southampton
Position: Centre Back
Stint: 2012-2020
Matches: 154
Goals: 4
Trophies: None
3. Lee Chung-yong
Country: South Korea
Club: Bolton Wanderers, Crystal Palace
Position: Winger
Stint: 2009-12, 2014-18
Matches: 105
Goals: 8
Trophies: None
2. Junichi Inamoto
Country: Japan
Club: Arsenal, Fulham, West Brom
Stint: 2001-06
Matches: 66
Goals: 4
Trophies: None
1. Sun Jihai
Country: China
Club: Manchester City
Position: Defender
Stint: 2002-2008
Matches: 123
Trophies: Championship