Five beloved forwards who returned home to English top-flight

After Spanish forward Fernando Torres sealed a return to his boyhood club Atletico Madrid, Coral look at forwards who re-joined the clubs that helped them gain their reputation in English top-flight football.

Mark Hughes
After joining Manchester United (16/1 with Coral to win the Premier League) straight from school in 1980, Hughes had to wait four years before making his debut. In the following two seasons, the Welsh attacker went on to strike 37 times in 89 outings, before signing for Terry Venables at Barcelona. However, an uninspiring spell in La Liga and on-loan to Bayern Munich, led to a return to Old Trafford in 1988, becoming an important player under Alex Ferguson.

Robbie Keane
Republic of Ireland’s record scorer spent six seasons in his first spell at White Hart Lane, bagging 80 Premier League goals in 197 outings, before joining Liverpool in 2008. Keane managed to secure five top-flight strikes in his 19 appearances in red, but eventually made the move back to London after just one campaign at Anfield.

Ian Rush
Liverpool’s all-time scorer, with 346 in 660 appearances, left Anfield for the Serie A in 1987 after agreeing to join Juventus. However, the sensational striker managed to net on only seven occasions in his one-season stint in Italy, finding it difficult to adapt to life in the Italian top flight. Rush then made a hero’s return to Merseyside a year later, where he spent another eight successful terms.

Duncan Ferguson
Ferguson infamously spent three months in jail following an on-field assault on Raith Rovers’ John McStay back in 1994, but Everton handed him a chance to revive his career. The big Scotsman was controversially sold to Newcastle United in 1999, but Ferguson then returned to Goodison Park the following season, where he finished his playing career. Despite not boasting a great goal record, the Scot became a cult hero on Merseyside after scoring against bitter rivals Liverpool on his Toffees debut.

Robbie Fowler
Nicknamed ‘God’ by the Kop faithful, Fowler became a legendary figure in Liverpool, departing the Reds in 2001 after scoring 18 times in the last season of his first stint. Rafa Benitez sparked a frenzy among Liverpool fans in 2006, after bringing the prolific striker back to Anfield.