Big Fish Across the Pond

THE BEST AMERICAN PLAYERS IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE REVEALED

• Former Everton star Landon Donovan has the best win percentage (47%) of any US player in the Premier League
• Goalkeeper Brad Friedel featured at four Premier League clubs, racking up a record high of 450 games, with a win ratio of 40%
• Prolific forward Clint Dempsey has the best goals-to-game ratio of any player, scoring once every four games

Exclusive research has revealed US national team forward Landon Donovan as the most effective player in Premier League history.

A total of 44 US players have featured in the Premier League era, with Donovan topping the table for the best win percentage (47 percent), the highest of any US players that have featured in ten or more Premier League games.

Of the current US stars currently playing in the Premier League, only Danny Williams (Huddersfield Town), DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United) and Tim Ream (Fulham) have featured in more than ten Premier League games – with the three struggling to match the winning rate of Donovan or former goalkeeping legends Tim Howard (43 percent win ratio) and Brad Friedel (40 percent).

As it stands, Danny Williams sits in 13^th place (30 percent), Yedlin sits in 19^th position (28 percent), with Tim Ream down in 26^th (21%). The research from us-bookies.com also reveals the most prolific scoring US player in the Premier League and the player with the most appearances.

Top 10 highest win percentage in the Premier League (with over 10 appearances):

Player	Teams	PL Apps	Games Won	Games Lost	Games Drawn	Win Rate
Donovan, Landon	Everton	17	8	4	5	47%
Howard, Tim	Everton / Manchester United	399	173	102	124	43%
Holden, Stuart	Bolton	28	12	8	8	43%
Harkes, John	Sheffield Wednesday / West Ham / Nottingham	43	18	15	10	42%
Friedel, Brad	Blackburn / Aston Villa / Tottenham / Liverpool	450	180	146	124	40%
Keller, Kasey	Leicester City / Tottenham / Fulham / Southampton	201	69	76	56	33%
Dempsey, Clint	Fulham / Tottenham	218	73	83	62	33%
Jones, Cobi	Coventry	21	7	9	5	33%
McBride, Brian	Fulham / Everton	148	47	64	37	32%
Cameron, Geoff	Stoke City	168	53	67	48	32%

When it comes to goals scored, Clint Dempsey reigns supreme, having scored 57 Premier League goals at a rate of 0.26 goals per game during his time in London with Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur. The Texas native is widely considered to be the most successful US import due to the volume of times he found the back of the net, also chipping in with 19 assists, and sparking the interest in legal sports betting.

Interestingly, Friedel and Howard both managed to find the back of the net during their time in the Premier League, with their one goal apiece just a goal less than Jozy Altidore mustered during his 70 appearances on Tyneside with Sunderland.

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Top 10 goals per game in the Premier League:

Player	Teams	Games Played	Games Won	Games Drawn	Games Lost	Goals	Goals per game
Dempsey, Clint	Fulham / Tottenham	218	73	62	83	57	0.26
McBride, Brian	Fulham / Everton	148	47	37	64	36	0.24
Wegerle, Roy	Coventry / Blackburn Rovers	75	19	26	30	13	0.17
Beasley, DaMarcus	Manchester City	18	5	3	10	3	0.17
Moore, Joe-Max	Everton	52	11	15	26	8	0.15
Donovan, Landon	Everton	17	8	5	4	2	0.12
Jones, Cobi	Coventry	21	7	5	9	2	0.10
Kirovski, Jovan	Birmingham	23	4	6	13	2	0.09
Radosavljević, Predrag (Preki)	Everton	46	13	10	23	4	0.09
Holden, Stuart	Bolton	28	12	8	8	2	0.07

American goalkeepers have a strong association with the Premier League, with goalkeepers making up five of the top ten players with the most Premier League appearances. Goalkeeper Brad Friedel sits top, racking up 450 appearances during his 13 years in England. The former Everton and Man United shot-stopper Tim Howard featured in a staggering 399 games, with a win ratio of 43%.

Friedel, speaking exclusively to us-bookies.com, revealed what it will take for him to be overtaken on record appearances, “Of course, I believe that every record has to be broken at some stage. The United States has a lot of very talented young players, where they get the opportunity to play in Spain, Germany or stay in the MLS or head over to England is yet to be seen, but there are plenty of players out there who if given the chance could beat the record, and I think that’s a great thing to have because it means the squad for the national team is getting bigger and better and that’s what we want.

“I would love to see the day that another American makes 310 consecutive appearances, and I think that would be outstanding and put a big smile on my face as it will mean that our sport is getting bigger and better, and continuing to grow.”

Top 10 most appearances in the Premier League:

Player	Teams	Games Played	Games Won	Games Drawn	Games Lost	Total Points	Points per game
Friedel, Brad	Blackburn / Aston Villa / Tottenham / Liverpool	450	180	124	146	664	1.48
Howard, Tim	Everton / Manchester United	399	173	124	102	643	1.61
Dempsey, Clint	Fulham / Tottenham	218	73	62	83	281	1.29
Keller, Kasey	Leicester City / Tottenham / Fulham / Southampton	201	69	56	76	263	1.31
Cameron, Geoff	Stoke City	168	53	48	67	207	1.23
Guzan, Brad	Aston Villa / Middlesbrough	154	33	36	85	135	0.88
McBride, Brian	Fulham / Everton	148	47	37	64	178	1.20
Spector, Jonathan	West Ham / Charlton / Manchester United	124	35	32	57	137	1.10
Bocanegra, Carlos	Fulham	116	29	36	51	123	1.06
Hahnemann, Marcus	Reading / Wolves	115	35	23	57	128	1.11

With the arrival of Christian Pulisic in the summer, and the growing reputation of the MLS, a spokesperson for us-bookies.com revealed what the future could hold for US imports:

“With a relatively small number of US players featuring in the Premier League’s 26-year history, Christian Pulisic’s arrival could pave the way for future stars to make the transition and look to develop a career in England.”

“The likes of Tim Howard, Brad Friedel and Clint Dempsey are remembered very fondly by their respective clubs and we expect that to continue with the talent coming over from the USA and MLS.”