Top 10 African strikers who outscored Drogba in a single Premier League season

Demba Ba

Another striker who would also play at Stamford Bridge, Ba was Africa’s third highest score in the 2011-12 season when he bagged 16 for Newcastle across the campaign, having previously impressed for West Ham.

Ba would move to Chelsea in 2012—replacing Galatasaray-bound Drogba—and then moved to Turkey with Besiktas in 2014 when the Ivorian returned to West London.

Victor Moses

Also in the 2011-12 campaign, Moses became the final Nigerian to net more than Drogba when he scored six to the striker’s five.

These were during the wideman’s Wigan Athletic days, and his fine goalscoring form would earn him a move to join Drogba at Chelsea.

Peter Odemwingie

Another Nigerian who scored more that Drogba in a single season was Odemwingie, who bagged an impressive 15 goals in the 2010-11 campaign.

In this campaign, the West Bromwich Albion hitman was the only frontman to bag more than the Ivorian, although he also repeated the feat the season after when he scored 10 to Drogba’s five.

Wilfried Bony

Once the most expensive African player in history, 2014-15 was the season when Bony swapped Swansea City for Manchester City.

He struggled to recreate the form he’d enjoyed with the Swans since arriving at Eastlands, and only two of the 11 goals he scored that season were

Impressively, he still registered just under a dozen PL goals after his arrival at City, despite an absence at the Afcon where he won the title with the Ivory Coast.

Salomon Kalou

In the 2008-09 season, Drogba was outscored by his fellow teammate and compatriot Kalou, with the versatile attacker netting six to the Drog’s five.

Three seasons later, the duo would become Champions League winners together as Chelsea defeated Bayern Munich in the final.


Emmanuel Adebayor

The Togo frontman also outscored Drogba across several campaigns.

In both 2007-08 and 2008-09, Adebayor netted more than the Ivorian great; 24 and 10 to Drogba’s eight and five respectively.

In both seasons, Ade was African’s top scorer in the Prem.

Ayegbeni Yakubu

No striker outscored Drogba more consistently than The Yak, who remains one of the Premier League’s most underrated African imports.

In both the 2004-05 and 2005-06 season he netted more than the Chelsea forward—the only African player to do so—when he scored 12 and 13 to Drogba’s 10 and 12 respectively.

It was the same story in the 2007-08 season, when Yakubu scored 15 to Drogba’s eight, and in the 2011-12 campaign, when the frontman scored 17 to Drogba’s five.

Benni McCarthy

Equalling Adebayor on 10 goals in the 2008-09 campaign was South Africa’s McCarthy, who was still enjoying his final hurrah at Blackburn Rovers before things declined at West Ham United.

In the 2006-07 season, he netted 18 goals—his best return in England—but was outgunned by The Drog.