As Jhon Arias joins Wolverhampton Wanderers, writer Tom Prentki looks at other Colombians who have plied their trade in the Premier League, with varying degrees of success.
Luis Diaz (Liverpool)
Appearances: 103 | Goals: 29 | Assists: 18
Since joining Liverpool from Porto for a reported fee of £37million in January 2022, Diaz’s time in England has been nothing short of a glittering success.
The left-winger, signed by Jurgen Klopp, enjoyed his best season at Anfield in 2024/25, scoring 17 goals across all competitions and helping Liverpool to the Premier League title.
Although he was on the losing team as Real Madrid beat Liverpool in the 2022 UEFA Champions League final, Diaz has also won the FA Cup and two EFL Cups during his relatively short time in England, prompting the Reds to reportedly reject a £58m offer from Bayern Munich earlier in July.
James Rodriguez (Everton)
Appearances: 26 | Goals: 6 | Assists: 9
It was a huge coup for Everton when Carlo Ancelotti persuaded Rodriguez to move to Goodison Park in September 2020. The pair had worked together at Bayern Munich and Real Madrid where they won 14 major trophies together.
Rodriguez, named after James Bond, was already a global superstar, having announced himself on the world stage at the FIFA 2014 World Cup in Brazil where he won the Golden Boot with six goals, including a famous strike in the round of 16 v Uruguay.
It started well enough for him in the Premier League, scoring three early goals to help Everton briefly to the top of the table, including a stunner against West Bromwich Albion. But a groin injury and Covid-19 disruption meant he was never able to recapture his early form and he eventually left for Al-Rayyan of the Qatar Stars League in 2021.
Radamel Falcao (Manchester United and Chelsea)
Appearances: 36 | Goals: 5 | Assists: 4
The striker, nicknamed ‘‘El Tigre’’, is one of the best Colombian footballers of all time and the country’s record marksman, with 36 international goals.
Sadly, he wasn’t able to match his impressive record at Porto, Atletico Madrid and AS Monaco when Louis van Gaal surprised everyone by bringing him to Old Trafford on a season-long loan deal in 2014.
Falcao managed just four goals in 29 matches for the Red Devils but that didn’t stop Jose Mourinho bringing him back to the Premier League from Monaco for another loan spell with Chelsea, where he had even less impact, scoring only one goal against Crystal Palace.
Jhon Duran (Aston Villa)
Appearances: 55 | Goals: 12 | Assists: 1
Duran’s two-year spell at Villa Park was a strange one. Joining from MLS club Chicago Fire at just 19 years-old, the striker’s finishing ability saw plenty sit up and take notice.
Last season, he won the club’s Goal of the Season award for his chested half-volley goal against Palace and last October scored his first Champions League goal with a stunning lob over Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer, ensuring an historic night at Villa Park.
But with Ollie Watkins often preferred by Unai Emery and with Al Nassr ready to pay a reported £64m for his services, Duran departed for the Saudi Pro League in January and has since been loaned to Fenerbahce for the coming season.
Faustino Asprilla (Newcastle United)
Appearances: 48 | Goals: 9 | Assists: 14
Perhaps the most iconic name on the list, ‘‘Tino’’ arrived at St James’ Park dressed in a woollen coat during a snowstorm to secure his reported £6.7m move from Parma in February 1996.
The undoubted high-point of his two-year stay on Tyneside was a hat-trick against Barcelona in the Champions League in September 1997, while he will also be remembered for his goal at Anfield in April 1996, during Liverpool’s thrilling 4-3 win over Newcastle which remains a Premier League classic. He returned to Parma in 1998.
Juan Pablo Angel (Aston Villa)
Appearances: 175 | Goals: 44 | Assists: 9
Villa broke their transfer record to sign Angel from Argentinian club River Plate for a reported £9.5m on New Year’s Day, 2001.
Initially, the powerful striker struggled to adapt to the demands of the Premier League but eventually became a crowd favourite and something of a cult hero at Villa Park.
His high point came in the 2003/04 season when he scored 23 goals in all competitions, helping David O’Leary’s side to sixth in the table and the semi-finals of the EFL Cup.
Angel eventually left for New York Red Bulls on a free transfer in January 2007.
Daniel Munoz (Crystal Palace)
Appearances: 53 | Goals: 4 | Assists: 9
It is no exaggeration to say that Munoz has been one of the best signings in Palace’s recent history since he made the move to England from Genk in January 2024 for a reported fee of just over £6m.
With his pace and tireless running, he is the perfect fit for Oliver Glasner’s wing-back system and, in a vintage campaign for the Eagles, was named the club’s Player of the Season for 2024/25. His most memorable moment? Surely delivering the cross which allowed Eberechi Eze to score the goal that won Palace the FA Cup for the first time in their 164-year history.
Hugo Rodallega (Wigan and Fulham)
Appearances: 154 | Goals: 29 | Assists: 12
In what must have been something of a culture shock for both parties, on 26 January 2009, Wigan manager Steve Bruce announced the signing of striker Rodallega from Mexican side Club Necaxa for a reported fee of £4.5m.
He cemented his status as a club legend on the final day of the 2010/11 season when his 79th-minute header against Stoke City secured Wigan’s Premier League safety.
Rodallega proved popular with Wigan supporters and scored 24 league goals between 2009 and 2012 before moving to Fulham in the summer of 2012.
Things didn’t go quite as well in west London, with Rodallega netting five times in 42 league games before departing for Turkish side Akhisar Belediyespor in 2015.
Hamilton Ricard (Middlesbrough)
Appearances: 106 | Goals: 31 | Assists: 9
Bryan Robson brought the striker from Deportivo Cali to Teeside in February 1998. Ricard claimed to have signed his contract “on a napkin because they had no documentation.”
He spent four years at Boro, twice finishing as the club’s top scorer before going on to play for a further 11 teams in his career.
Ricard will be remembered fondly by the Boro faithful for a brilliant, curling strike against Bradford in the FA Cup in January 2001.
Yerry Mina (Everton)
Appearances: 86 | Goals: 7 | Assists: 1
One of the only defenders on the list, the towering Mina joined Everton from Barcelona in 2018 after impressing in the 2018 World Cup, where he scored half of Colombia’s six goals at the tournament.
Overall, his time on Merseyside can be considered a success. When Mina played, Everton’s win percentage was 57 per cent, when he didn’t it was just 24 per cent. He will be remembered for netting an equaliser in the ninth minute of second-half stoppage time against Wolves in May 2023 to help the Toffees avoid relegation, but injuries blighted much of his spell in the Premier League.
Jefferson Lerma (AFC Bournemouth and Crystal Palace)
Appearances: 161 | Goals: 9 | Assists: 4
First at Bournemouth, now with Palace, the tough-tackling Lerma has proved good value for money since first moving to the Premier League in 2018 when Eddie Howe broke the Cherries’ transfer record, paying around £25m to bring him from Spanish club Levante.
At Bournemouth the defensive midfielder experienced both relegation from and promotion to the Premier League before moving to Selhurst Park on a free transfer in 2023. His pinnacle with the Eagles came in last season’s FA Cup final where he was a second-half substitute and helped the Eagles to a 1-0 win over Manchester City.
Juan Cuadrado (Chelsea)
Appearances: 13 | Goals: 0 | Assists: 0
Brief and disappointing would be the best way to describe Cuadrado’s time at Chelsea. He arrived from Fiorentina in the winter of 2015 for a reported fee of £23m with last season’s Premier League top-scorer Mohamed Salah going the other way on loan.
Despite Mourinho saying that the winger would need time to adapt to English football, he never managed it and eventually returned to Serie A, this time to Juventus, where he won multiple titles.
David Ospina (Arsenal)
Appearances: 29 | Goals conceded: 23 | Clean sheets: 12
Despite spending four years in north London, Ospina was never a regular starter in the Premier League following his move from French side Nice. His best moments came in the cup competitions, notably the 2017 FA Cup final in which Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1, a match which saw Ospina make a brilliant save from N’Golo Kante.
Ospina, who also had a spell at Napoli, is his country’s all-time record cap holder and played every minute as Colombia reached the 2014 World Cup quarter-finals.