Ten players that left the Premier League but would enrich it upon their return.
!0. Gervinho
The Ivorian was brought in to the Gunners camp to much expectation back in 2011 after an impressive campaign with Lille that saw them lift the Ligue 1 title the year before.
However, he was unable to live up to the hype in north London and 11 goals in 63 appearances later he was carried out of the club by the collective sigh of Gunners fans to Rome, where he has actually been rather good.
Teaming up with his former Lille coach Rudi Garcia, he has scored eight times and created eight goals for his teammates, proving that he is a top player after all and would be welcomed back to the English top flight anytime.
9. Carlos Vela
Another former Arsenal man that didn’t quite make the grade. The Mexican international has seemingly found his confidence (and his scoring boots) in San Sebastian and has now sampled life in the Champions League with Real Sociedad.
The 25-year-old has notched up 41 goals in 111 appearances in northern Spain and has shown that he is capable of performing consistently at the top level. Surely he would make the most of a second chance in England if he chose to come back.
8. Fraser Forster
The Celtic man never actually got around to making his bow in the Premier League with Newcastle, where he rose through the youth ranks, but did get to test himself in the lower leagues with several loan spells with the likes of Stockport, Bristol Rovers and Norwich City.
However, having now proved himself in the Champions League and as the bedrock for Celtic’s continued domination of the SPL, he looks increasingly likely to head back south of the border with the intention of adding to the solitary England cap he earned last year.
7. Giuseppe Rossi
The American-born Italian international came through the youth ranks at Manchester United where he was tipped for big things. Sadly, it didn’t work out for him there and he made just a handful of appearances before being shipped out on loan to Newcastle United, where it sadly didn’t work out again.
After six years in Spain, hitting the back of the net regularly with Villarreal he earned himself a move to Fiorentina, and has continued to score consistently. However, yet another serious injury has put him out for the campaign but he would surely jump at the chance to return to the Premier League if it came up. He has a lot of people to prove wrong.
6. Carlos Tevez
The Argentine forward had somewhat of a reputation as a troublemaker at Manchester City, but he always made sure that he was worth the trouble by scoring and creating regularly enough to for discontent to be kept as a murmur.
Last summer he made the surprise move to Juventus, where he has shown that not even stringent Italian defences can keep him quiet as he has bagged himself 15 goals in 31 games across all competitions so far this season. At 30, though, time may be against him, but should he keep up this sparkling form he won’t be short of offers anytime soon.
5. Mario Balotelli
The troublesome striker is another player that has had an unwelcome tag around his neck over recent seasons, but like Tevez he has always managed to back his actions up with sublime skill and a healthy goalscoring record.
Unpredictable, controversial, but hugely skilful, the Italian international is on the outs with Milan and could be heading back to the UK as early as this summer as the club may look to cash in on him after their love affair finally went sour.
4. Didier Drogba
Most players start to lose their powers when they reach their mid-30’s, but Drogba has somehow managed to maintain a level of consistency in another of Europe’s top leagues.
Since joining the Istanbul-based side in January of last year he has managed to find the net on an impressive 20 occasions in 50 games, and could still easily lead the line for a club in the Premier League.
But could he find anyone to match his €4m per year salary?
3. Luka Modric
The Madrid star looked as though he was set for an early flight back to England last summer as his debut season in La Liga left many feeling cold about him.
However, he has made great strides this term to make sure that he is considered as a key player in the Spanish capital and now the English clubs are lining up to take him back, only this time Real are definitely not interested in listening to any offers for his services.
2. Cesc Fabregas
When Fabregas left for Barcelona everybody wished him well. He was going to fulfil his lifelong dream of turning out with his boyhood club and nobody wanted to take that away from him.
However, three years on an even fans of clubs other than Arsenal are urging the 26-year-old to come back as he continues to struggle to cement a regular spot in the starting line up at the Nou Camp and thus in the Spanish nation team too. Linked with Manchester United over the summer, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if they made a return for him this time around too.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo
The Portuguese star is perhaps the Premier League’s biggest loss ever. His skills, goalscoring theatrics and star power have all made the top flight a poorer place and nobody has come close to reaching the same sort of plateau since.
He was tentatively linked with a return to Manchester United again last summer, but that move was never likely to happen. United are perhaps the only side that could realistically bring him back to England, with the exception of Chelsea, perhaps, but a new contract with Madrid this season has put an end to the speculation and has broken many English hearts.