Premier League's top 5 one-hit wonders

The abrupt emergence of an unknown commodity has become an annual tradition in the Premier League.

But often, just as fast as he appears out of nowhere, he fades from the collective memory of football supporters and returns to the shadows of obscurity, much like Michu after his first season with Swansea City.

The Spaniard burst onto the scene after joining the Welsh side from Rayo Vallecano in 2012, finishing among the league's top-five scorers with 18 goals. But injuries caused his career to fizzle out, and officially come to a close Monday.

In light of Swansea terminating Michu's contract, here are five other one-hit wonders from the Premier League:

5. Michael Ricketts - Bolton

Bolton has Ricketts to thank in large part for their promotion in 2002, with his exploits in attack transitioning flawlessly to England's top flight. His blistering scoring pace put him among the league's top scorers as he bulged the back of the net 15 times before February. A call-up to the English national team, however, was the beginning of the end to this fairy-tale story. Ricketts didn't manage to score the rest of the season.

4. Robinho - Manchester City

Manchester City's transformation into a financial powerhouse that can count itself among the Premier League's exclusive group of title contenders looked to be fast-tracked by the capture of Robinho from Real Madrid for over £30 million. Although his first season lived up to the billing thanks to his 14 goals, injuries and an inability to adjust to the English style (and brisk conditions) led to a scoreless 2008-09 campaign before he was shipped off to AC Milan.

3. Benjani Mwaruwari - Manchester City

Benjani's memorable debut in the Manchester derby in 2008 would never have happened had he not put on a scoring clinic with Portsmouth the season before. His 15 goals in 23 appearances were enough to catch City's attention, and the winner he scored Old Trafford likely made up for the fact that he only scored three goals for the club afterwards.

2. Roque Santa Cruz - Blackburn Rovers

Santa Cruz lived up to expectations during his first season in England following a move from Barcelona to Blackburn. Unfortunately, the Paraguayan didn't come close to repeating the 19 goals he produced, following up his tally from the 2007-08 season with just four goals in 17 subsequent appearances.

1. Andy Johnson - Crystal Palace

Finishing behind only Thierry Henry in the Premier League scoring race for Crystal Palace in 2005, Johnson had fans at Selhurst Park giddy with excitement at the prospect of a prolific scorer on the verge of greatness. Only 24 at the time, Johnson looked capable of leading the league's top-scorers list for years to come, but he ultimately came plummeting back to earth. He never again benefited from an 11-goal boost from the penalty spot, and didn't come close to matching the 21 tallies he recorded during that memorable season for the Eagles.