Sports
MANCHESTER City striker Erling Haaland once again took home the Premier League Golden Boot comfortably in 2023-24 as became the back-to-back top scorer in the top flight.
His 27 goals in 31 games ensured his side finished above Arsenal and won yet another title.
Haaland’s return was not as strong as his 36 goals in 2022-23, however, and there were other players who had stellar campaigns who are likely to threaten him this term.
Could this be the year someone else tops the scoring charts? Or will the Golden Boot be Haaland’s again? BBC Sport takes a look at some potential contenders.
Erling Haaland
Haaland will be the favourite to walk off with the boot again because of his clinical finishing and City’s dominance of games.
His bare statistics tell the story; he has scored a staggering 63 goals in 66 Premier League matches in his two seasons with City.
In all competitions, he netted 38 times in 45 games for City last term.
Cole Palmer
A City man is the favourite for the title and it is a former City player who could most closely challenge him.
Cole Palmer has excelled in London since moving to Chelsea. He has been prolific in front of goal and came close to winning the Golden Boot last season.
The 22-year-old scored 22 goals and assisted a further 11 times in the league in 2023-24 – and was second in both categories.
Alexander Isak
Injury kept Alexander Isak on the sidelines for a large part of his first season at Newcastle, but he returned to fitness in good form in 2023-24.
The 24-year-old still managed 10 goals in 22 games in 2022-23 – which was particularly notable given he spent some time on the wing.
More minutes and a central position saw him score 21 times in 30 league games and 25 times in 40 games in all competitions last season.
Isak is a terrific finisher and if he stays fit, he will be prolific.
Ollie Watkins
Watkins was one of England’s heroes at Euro 2024 thanks to his dramatic winning goal against the Netherlands in the semi-final.
Last season, the Aston Villa striker scored 19 times and managed 13 assists – the most of any player.
Watkins’ goals helped Aston Villa to a fourth-placed finish that secured Champions League football. Can he repeat his stellar season?
Mohamed Salah
Given Mohamed Salah missed a chunk of the season because of an injury picked up at the Africa Cup of Nations, it was impressive he managed so many goals.
The Egypt forward – the Premier League’s top scorer in 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2021-22 – scored 18 times in 32 games.
He is now 32 but has looked sharp in pre-season. The big unknown is how he and Liverpool function under new manager Arne Slot.
Son Heung-min
Tottenham forward Son is entering his ninth season in England’s top flight and has always been a threat in front of goal.
Last season, with an increasing number of his appearances coming in the centre of the attack rather than on the wing, he was a consistent scorer.
He netted 17 times in 35 league games and registered 10 assists. He is now 32, but does not seem to be waning in effectiveness.
Bukayo Saka
Arsenal took last season’s Premier League title race down to the wire – and Bukayo Saka was a key part of that.
The 22-year-old winger scored 16 times and assisted a further nine goals.
He was part of England’s squad at Euro 2024, scoring the equaliser and then a penalty in the shootout against Switzerland in the quarter-finals.
Who else could be in the running?
Dominic Solanke will fancy himself to be in the running having hit 19 goals last season for Bournemouth and now spearheading an attack-minded Tottenham side.
Darwin Nunez is the league’s enigma, at times looking unplayable and at others looking out of his depth. Can Slot coax more consistency from Liverpool’s Uruguay striker?
He is not a striker, but City midfielder Phil Foden was in the mix last term with an impressive tally of 19 goals as well as eight assists.
Joshua Zirkzee moved to Manchester United from Bologna after being part of the Netherlands’ Euro 2024 squad. He only scored 13 times in 53 appearances for Bologna but if United’s form improves, could he hit the ground running?
What about Christopher Nkunku at Chelsea? He had a superb record at RB Leipzig and if he avoids the injuries that plagued him last season, he could be a threat to Haaland.
Brentford forward Ivan Toney missed much of last season through suspension and could not find his best in front of goal after his return, notching four goals in 17 league matches.
Toney will hope to return to his best form this season while Crystal Palace fans will hope Jean-Philippe Mateta can continue his prolific end to the last campaign.
BBCSport
A.I
Aug. 14, 2024
Tags: Christopher Nkunku Erling Haaland Jean-Philippe Mateta
