There has yet to be a single attempt on goal, nor a goalkeeper troubled, but already Erling Haaland is a short-priced favourite in the top scorer Premier League odds.
This is to be expected, of course. Indeed, the only surprise is there is still some value to be found in backing the Striking Viking, that is until he bangs a couple in against Chelsea on the opening day, before pummelling Ipswich into submission at the Etihad a week later.
Premier League Golden Boot Odds
- Erling Haaland - 4/6
- Mohamed Salah - 10/1
- Alexander Isak - 14/1
- Ollie Watkins - 16/1
- Darwin Nunez - 20/1
- Cole Palmer - 20/1
- Ivan Toney - 20/1
- Bar - 22/1
Such is the Norwegian’s consistent ruthlessness in front of goal it is only right to presume that he will be very much in the reckoning to win a third consecutive Golden Boot come May.
Just so long as he remains fit for the most part. And so long as nothing crazy occurs in the meantime, such as an arbitrary new law being introduced that bans 6ft 4 blondes from entering penalty areas.
How could we possibly think otherwise given the evidence to date?
Player Top Goalscorer - Ivan Toney
In his debut season in the English top-flight, Haaland smashed all manner of records, firing 36 goals in 35 league appearances, a lofty tally that included four hat-tricks.
As Manchester City once again dominated the footballing landscape their recently procured super-weapon contributed a goal involvement every 63 minutes.
And then came his second campaign, the one that had everyone gossiping that he was a little out of sorts.
No forward missed more big chances in 2023/24 (34) than Haaland so perhaps that gave the claim some legitimacy. Yet he still out-fired all of his peers by a healthy margin of five. He still averaged a shot on target every 11.8 touches.
With a huge slice of under-statement it can be said that Haaland is the man to beat this term in the goal-scoring stakes, and furthermore he will take some beating.
That is not to say however that the formidable goal-machine cannot be surpassed. Every Premier League front-man is capable of stringing together nine months of prolificacy and the same applies to wingers and number 10s on rarer occasions.
Should the individual in question also happen to play for a successful team then all the better.
If any of the following plethora of attacking talent enjoys a memorable season expect them to be firmly in the frame, pushing Haaland all the way, goal for goal.
Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea)
The temptation when focusing on the outright markets in the football betting is to believe that history will repeat itself. So it is that Cole Palmer is the first name that comes to mind when potential challengers to Haaland are considered.
After all, the 22-year-old proved to be a revelation last term, scoring 22 and assisting 11 times in a chaotic Chelsea set-up. His performances rightfully secured him the Premier League Young Player of the Season merit.
Yet though Palmer will likely impress again on a weekly basis, we should be wary of the possibility that last season was an anomaly as regards to his prolificacy, as the England star compensated for a Blues side that misfired elsewhere.
Nicolas Jackson was the guiltiest of culprits when it came to repeatedly spurning opportunities, missing 24 big chances all told and devoid of confidence for the first half of the campaign. Of the 13 players who scored 14 or more top-flight goals in 2023/24, Jackson had the worst goals to minutes ratio.
As the Blues stumbled from one crisis to another, what they desperately needed was a reliable finisher, and frustratingly they possessed one in Nkunku, bought that summer from RB Leipzig for £52m. Alas, injuries resulted in the French international making only two starts all season.
Now fit and firing again, and moreover playing for a new manager, this is very much a clean slate of a campaign for the versatile attacker, and what’s more, he has a pedigree for goals. Nkunku converted 47 in 119 Bundesliga appearances.
Alexander Isak (Newcastle)
There is talk of the Magpies bringing in a striker this window to help take some of the goal-scoring onus off their deadly Swede. Isak will no doubt respond to the increased competition for the forward’s jersey in the same manner he has to date – by finding the back of the net with impressive regularity.
The 24-year-old notched 21 times last season, a career-best haul, and such a welter of goals was greatly needed too, with Newcastle elsewhere ravaged by injuries and struggling to hit the heights of 2022/23.
Ultimately, he fired 24.7% of his team’s total tally.
Can he go one better this time out, improving on a ratio that saw him on the score-sheet every 108 minutes? If the Newcastle of two years ago turns up again, who knows?
Mo Salah (Liverpool)
By the Egyptian’s remarkable standards, last term was something of a bust, taking on 90 shots overall but ‘only’ converting 18 times. It was his lowest tally since joining the Reds in 2017.
Which in itself illustrates just how consistently lethal Salah has been at Anfield and beyond for several seasons now, winning the Premier League Golden Boot on three occasions, and breaking records into the bargain.
Salah has scored more goals than any other African footballer in Premier League history. He’s scored more left-footed goals than anyone else. It’s worth noting too that he has notched on the opening day for six seasons running. Ipswich beware on August 17th.
Ivan Toney (TBD)
After seeing out a lengthy ban last season, Toney seemed to settle immediately back into a goal-scoring groove, bagging four in five on his return for Brentford.
There followed however a drought that lasted until his campaign’s end, amounting to 999 minutes – or 16-and-a-half hours – of missed chances, blazed efforts high and wide, or, most worryingly, times when the ball dropped kindly but he was nowhere to be seen.
Don’t think for one second tough that such a sustained lean spell has put off potential suitors. With the Bees consigned to losing a striker who has fired 36 top-flight goals for them, Spurs are reportedly very keen, as too are Manchester United.
A move to a top six club, and a fresh start, could see the 28-year-old ignite again.
*Credit for the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*
