When the topic of defenders in football comes to mind, people think of them as preventing goals rather than scoring them. However, there is a small group of Premier League defenders who have had an eye for goal.
However, who is the Premier League’s most prolific defender since its inception in 1992?
John Terry (41 goals scored in 492 Premier League appearances for Chelsea)
The highest-scoring defender in the history of the current era of the English top flight is former Chelsea and England captain John Terry. He is considered one of the best defenders that English football has produced in recent decades.
However, the centre-back was also a significant threat on set-pieces. In his nearly two-decade career, he scored 41 goals in his 492 Premier League appearances, all of which came in Chelsea’s blue.
During his Blues career, the defender helped Chelsea win the Premier League title on five occasions. He was also rewarded for his performances in season 2004/05 by winning the PFA Players’ Player of the Year.
David Unsworth (38 goals scored in 364 Premier League appearances for Everton, West Ham, Portsmouth and Wigan Athletic)
Due to his strength and toughness, the defender was nicknamed ‘Rhino’ during his time at Everton. He is the second-highest-scoring defender in Premier League history.
Unsworth came through the youth system with the Toffees, making his top-flight debut in season 1991/92, in the last season of the old First Division.
The defender’s goal tally was helped by the fact that he was a highly accomplished penalty kick taker. In fact, at times, he was the first-choice penalty taker at several of his clubs.
Ian Marshall (33 goals scored in 159 Premier League appearances for Oldham Athletic, Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Bolton Wanderers)
Marshall’s presence on this list could be somewhat controversial, as he also played as a striker in his career. In fact, he was considered a striker when he came through the youth set-up at Everton before his switch to Oldham in 1988.
However, he played enough games as a centre-back to allow him to be included in this list. During his Premier League career, he scored 33 goals in 159 appearances. His tally was boosted because he was a regular penalty-kick taker during his time in the Premier League.
Leighton Baines (32 goals scored in 420 Premier League appearances for Wigan Athletic and Everton)
The full-back started his playing career in the Everton youth ranks before being released. He was picked up by Wigan Athletic, where he made a name for himself as a highly talented young attacking full-back.
Baines returned to Everton in 2007 after two seasons in the Premier League with the Latics. He scored three of his top-flight goals for the Latics, but the bulk of his goals came during his 12 years with his boyhood club, Everton. He scored in 11 straight top-flight campaigns from season 2008/09 until 2017/18.
The former England international was a set-piece specialist, taking penalty kicks and free kicks. Baines was also adept at creating goals for his teammates, producing an impressive 53 assists during his top-flight career.
Ian Harte (28 goals scored in 237 Premier League appearances for Leeds United, Sunderland and Reading)
The Republic of Ireland international spent the majority of his Premier League career with Leeds United, where he played for the first nine seasons of his playing days.
Harte spent most of his career as a left-back, but like Leighton Baines, he had a good habit of finding the net from free kicks. Despite also playing for Sunderland and Reading in the English top flight, all of his 28 top-flight goals came during his long spell with Leeds.
Harte was also highly productive in helping his teammates find the net, as he produced 36 assists in the Premier League.
Gary Cahill (28 goals scored in 394 Premier League appearances for Aston Villa, Bolton Wanderers, Chelsea and Crystal Palace)
The former England international is another centre-back who was not just good at keeping goals out but also posed an attacking threat at set-pieces. During his top-flight career, he scored 28 goals in 394 top-flight appearances.
Cahill scored 13 top-flight goals at both Bolton Wanderers and Chelsea, scoring once for his first club, Villa and once for Crystal Palace in his last stint as a Premier League player.
Marcos Alonso (26 goals scored in 179 Premier Leagues for Bolton Wanderers, Sunderland and Chelsea)
The versatile Spaniard started his career as more of an attacking player before dropping deeper as his professional career progressed. His first experience of the Premier League came when he joined Bolton Wanderers in 2010 from Spanish giants Real Madrid.
He spent three seasons with Bolton, two in the Premier League and one in the Championship. After a 2013 switch to Fiorentina, Alonso returned to the English top flight in 2014 with a loan spell at Sunderland.
It was not until 2016, when Alonso joined Chelsea that his Premier League career took off. Alonso often played as a wing-back for the Blues. This more advanced role saw him score 25 of his 26 top-flight goals, having scored just one Premier League goal at Bolton.
During his time in the English top flight, Alonso also produced 17 assists for his teammates.
Steve Watson (26 goals scored in 351 Premier League appearances for Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Everton and West Brom)
The versatile Watson came through the youth system at his home city club, Newcastle. He made his Premier League debut in season 1993/94, having helped the Magpies win promotion from the second tier.
Watson scored 11 Premier League goals for the Magpies. He then joined Aston Villa in 1998, where he stayed for two seasons but failed to score in the English top flight.
However, he was more successful in front of goal in five seasons at Everton, scoring 14 times. That goal tally was helped by the fact that he also played in midfield and, on a few occasions, as a striker, with Watson scoring a memorable hat-trick from the centre of the park against Leeds United in 2003.
His final Premier League club was West Brom, where he scored once, as the Baggies suffered relegation to the second tier.
Who is the most memorable goalscoring defender from the Premier League era?