Top 10 South American imports

With Aguero, Di Maria and Sanchez all in rude health, we pick our top ten Premier League South American imports. Five Argentineans, two Brazilians, two Uruguayans and a Chilean...

NB - Before Manchester United fans froth at the mouth, Radamel Falcao is excluded on the grounds that 251 minutes is considered insufficient time to judge.

10) Gustavo Poyet (Chelsea and Tottenham)

There is a tendency for Poyet's playing career in England to pass under the radar, but that does a disservice to his consistency in midfield, complemented by his ability to score a howitzer goal.

Already 29 by the time he joined Chelsea in 1997, Poyet suffered a cruciate injury during his first season but still made himself a fan's favourite before joining Tottenham in 2000. Despite playing in central midfield, the Uruguayan scored 49 goals in 145 matches for Chelsea, which is frankly ridiculous.

Voted best midfielder at the 1995 Copa America, Poyet somehow played only 23 times for his country. Their loss, we'd say.

9) Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City)

There is a banner often displayed at the Etihad in praise of Pablo Zabaleta, who is pictured with a bandage around his head. 'Heart and Soul,' it reads. Those words could not be more appropriate.

There will always be an ignorant school of thought that foreign players are more likely to be lazier, fancier dans, but Zabaleta shatters that illusion. Alongside Vincent Kompany and Joe Hart, the right-back forms the foundation on which City's success is built. Whilst the other two have suffered undeniable losses of form, Zaba just keeps on keeping on.

In an age when City's emergence is based on extraordinary investment, a player bought for £6m promises to be the last man standing. We're happy to rise and applaud.

8) Gilberto Silva (Arsenal)

If I was to draw up a list of the most underrated players in Premier League history, Gilberto Silva would sit at the top.

Signed after winning the World Cup for Brazil in 2002, Silva became an integral part of the Arsenal midfield that became 'Invincible'. Nicknamed the Invisible Wall for his protection of the defence, he was equally capable of popping up on the counter attack. The broken back Gilberto suffered in 2004/5 is pointed to by many Arsenal supporters as the reason they failed to defend the title - he played just 13 PL games.

A World Cup winner. A Copa America winner. A Double Confederations Cup winner. A title winner in three different countries. A total of 93 caps for Brazil, bettered by only nine other players. And yet some still fail to see his quality. Silly.

7) Javier Mascherano (West Ham and Liverpool)

For Argentinean footballers, receiving praise from Diego Maradona will always be considered noteworthy. Following the World Cup semi-final victory win over Netherlands, Maradona was convinced of La Albiceleste's hero: "When I said it was 'Masche' and 10 more, they laughed. Today they could not laugh. The example on the pitch is Mascherano. Everyone follows his rhythm."

I fail to see how anyone could still be surprised by Mascherano's excellence. Aged just 30, only Javier Zanetti and Roberto Ayala have more caps for Argentina, and the midfielder remained the rock in Liverpool's defensive midfield for three-and-a-half years. Such was his reluctance to leave the club that he bizarrely dedicated his 2011 Champions League win with Barcelona to Liverpool fans.

It's also worth remembering that Alan Pardew picked Hayden Mullins over Mascherano for West Ham. Newcastle fans have got off lightly.

6) Juninho (Middlesbrough)

If you have a few pennies and a couple of hours spare, you can actually buy a DVD dedicated entirely to Juninho's time at Middlesbrough. That's the effect the little magician had on Teeside.

The Brazilian's impact at the Riverside can equally be epitomised by a banner regularly seen in the stands: 'Juninho is God. We have him ... you don't'. Supporters presumably pinched themselves every time he took to the field.

A couple of years back I argued that Juninho was the most important Premier League signing ever, and I'm sticking by it. He changed the landscape of English football, a Brazilian Player of the Year touted as Pele's natural heir arriving in Middlesbrough. This was the poster boy for a new era of English football.

5) Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal)

Arsene Wenger nailed Alexis Sanchez when he likened the Chilean to a 'street footballer'. He's rough, he's tough, he's skilful and he's fast - what's not to like?

"When football is more formalised, it's less about developing your individual skill and fighting attitude. We've lost that a bit," Wenger said. After the relative disappointment of Shinji Kagawa, Mesut Ozil and (eventually) Juan Mata, the fear that Sanchez may also struggle in England has thankfully evaporated after a quiet start.

Most players seem to love football. Sanchez appears to live it. We've got an awful lot of time and appreciation for that.

4) Carlos Tevez (West Ham, Manchester United and Manchester City)

It's now exactly 100 club goals for Carlos Tevez in the last five years, a milestone celebrated by his first call-up to the Argentina squad in three seasons. His form has finally become too hard to ignore, despite the reservations over fitting him and Lionel Messi into the same team.

Tevez suffered in England for his moodiness, perceived or otherwise, but there is little doubting his quality. In seven years he saved West Ham from relegation, won three Premier League titles, five other domestic trophies and the Champions League, adding the European Super Cup and Club World Cup for good measure. Oh, and he scored 106 goals.

Tevez's career is littered with success: 17 trophies and 15 runner-up medals by the age of 30. That can't be any coincidence - he's a damn useful man to have around.

3) Angel Di Maria (Manchester United)

I don't care if James Rodriguez is gold-plated, diamond encrusted and scores 30 league goals this season, I'll still refuse to believe that Real Madrid couldn't find a place for Angel Di Maria.

Di Maria is the ideal player to watch. He is not perfect, nor is he complete as a player. He is not the ideal specimen either, with thin limbs giving the effect of ungainliness. This is a far cry from Manchester United's last attacking idol, Cristiano Ronaldo.

However, such things pale into insignificance when Di Maria gets the ball at his feet. He is unpredictable, twisting and jerky, appearing to have that wonderful knack of reading the game quicker than his opponents.

In a game which threatens to become ever more formulaic and players forged into talented robots, Di Maria breaks the mould. Unpredictability is a characteristic to be cherished.

2) Luis Suarez (Liverpool)

Ah, Luis Suarez, remember him?

It felt as if everything with Suarez's time at Liverpool was heightened, cramming a career's worth of goals, delightful skill and abhorrent behaviour into just 133 matches in England. In that time, he scored 82 strikes, 61 of those coming in his final two seasons. You could make a DVD highlights package from his performances against Norwich alone.

It is difficult to see how Suarez will fail to succeed in Spain, but whatever occurs next in the soap opera will fail to detract from his record in England. Awful man, wonderful player, incredible finisher.

1) Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)

Sergio Aguero is a thing of footballing wonder. He is fast and he is strong. He is intelligent and considered, but also able to rely on instinct to splendid effect. And as an added bonus he is handsome. Boy is he handsome.

There are greater goalscorers in Premier League history and also scorers of greater goals, but that does not matter. Comparison is folly when watching the raw passion and joy on the little Argentinean's face when he scores. It melts us every time.

Now aged 26, there will come a time when Aguero inevitably leaves England, and the Premier League will be lesser for it. But, don't be sad. For now, let us just sit back and enjoy. Aguero's business is scoring goals, and business is so very, very good.

A version of this article first appeared on Football365