Top 10 Non-League Players That Have Made It To The Premier League

With the huge success of Leicester City last season, the spotlight has been on Jamie Vardy, the non-league player who had considered quitting football until he made it up to the Premier League and the team upset the League and won the title.

The Premier League this year has even had some stars of other sports such as poker, debating just how much of a hotly contested match-up this season will be, whether Tottenham who came so close last season will end up winning the League, and whether last year’s winners Leicester are able to stay in the top four with the huge managerial shifts that have happened this season.

These sporting stars have been looking at which striker is likely to end up with the golden boot and with non-league player Jamie Vardy getting close to being the top goal-scorer last season, there will be a lot of thought about other non-league surprises that teams may have up their sleeve this season.

There have been plenty of success stories from non-league players making it to the Premier League.

Jimmy Bullard

return to the Premier League as a manager.

Gary Hooper

Gary Hooper began his career for non-league footballer Grays Athletic as a 16 year old in 2004. Hooper’s relentless goal scoring rate caught many eyes and he was quickly snapped up by Southend United. He then passed through Leyton Orient, Hereford United, Scunthorpe United and Celtic, before finally making it to the Premier League side Norwich. As things stand, he is the only player to have scored in the Premier League, the Championship, League One, League Two, the Conference, the FA Cup, the League Cup, the SPL, the Scottish Cup, the Scottish League Cup, the Europa League and the Champions League.

Troy Deeney

After having failed to be successful with Aston Villa’s youth team Troy Deeney was going to give up his career and become a builder. He kept up his building apprenticeship while playing for non-league side Chelmsley Town, before being scouted by League One side Walsall. After three seasons there, Deeney submitted a transfer request, amongst a flurry of Championship interest and it was Watford who then took the plunge for the player. Since then, he’s been there pummelling goals for the side in the Premier League.

Les Ferdinand

Ferdinand was still playing at non-league side Hayes at the age of 21, and in 1987 QPR bought him for just £15,000. He then went on to become one of the most prolific strikers in the Premier League era.

Chris Smalling

Smalling became an established Man United and England National Team defender, just three years after playing in the Isthmian League Premier Division with Maidstone United. In 2010 he made a few appearances for Fulham, and made a debut for England in 2011. He won a Premier League winners medal in 2011 and scored in the resulting Community Shield win against Man City.

Lee Tomlin

Peter Crouch

The Stoke City star has been playing in the Premier League for more than 14 years now, but he played for a number of other non-league teams including Dulwich Hamlet and being loaned out to the Swedish second division. Since then, he has recorded 22 goals from 42 England caps, and overtook Alan Shearer as the Premier League’s all-time record scorer of headed goals.

Ben Foster

England international goal keeper has played around 250 games in the Premier League for Manchester United, Watford, Birmingham and West Brom. As a product of the Stoke City academy, Foster was loaned out to two non-league teams: Tiverton Town and Stafford Rangers.

Yannick Bolaise

Bolasie played in the eleventh tier of English football with Hillingdon Borough. He signed for his first Football League club Plymouth Argyle, and five years later featured for Crystal Palace in the Premier League – with him now being one of the most feared wingers in the Premier League.

Joe Hart

He’s now England’s number one goal keeper, and has spent the last decade at Manchester City, but before this, he had a stint of non-league football with Shrewsbury Town, before they were promoted to the Conference and League Two.