The race for the Premier League Golden Boot is heating up. As the run-in draws closer, five players have fired their way into contention for the prestigious award.
The Golden Boot first came into football through the European Golden Shoe in 1968. This was awarded to the top scorer in European football by L’Equipe.
The Premier League have presented the Golden Boot to the competition’s leading goalscorer since the 1992/93 season. The first winner was Teddy Sheringham who scored 22 goals in 41 games for Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest.
This season there are arguably five contenders for the award. Who will win the Premier League Golden Boot, 32 seasons after Sheringham won the league’s inaugural accolade?
View the full list of top scorers here
https://thedeck.news/premier-league-top-scorers/
Mohamed Salah – 21 goals
Salah has been sensational this season. The Egyptian winger has scored 26 goals in all competitions, 21 of which have come in England’s top flight.
Salah’s Liverpool side sit six points clear at the summit of the Premier League and will compete in a Carabao Cup final later this season. Without his talisman, Arne Slot would surely not have taken to English football as well as he has.
The former Chelsea forward strikes fear into opposition players. His scintillating pace and lethal finishing make Salah one of football’s most reliable goalscorers.
Liverpool will need Salah to remain at his best to compete on all fronts, but the Egyptian is currently leading the way in the 2024/25 Golden Boot race.
Erling Haaland – 19 goals
Haaland has won the Premier League’s last two Golden Boot awards. The Norwegian striker has scored 63 goals in that period, reaching numbers that few have eclipsed.
Despite Manchester City’s dip in form, Haaland has still managed to score 19 Premier League goals with seven of those coming in August. Who would bet against him winning three consecutive Golden Boots?
The former Borussia Dortmund striker recently signed a new nine-year contract so top-flight defenders will continue to be terrorised by Haaland for seasons to come.
Haaland trails Salah by two goals and will likely be the Egyptian’s closest challenger in the race for the Golden Boot.
Alexander Isak – 17 goals
If this piece had been written at the start of December, Isak would be nowhere near making this list. However, a simply sensational turn of form over Christmas has catapulted the Newcastle forward into contention.
Isak has scored 13 of his 17 goals since December, etching his name onto the score sheet in eight consecutive matches. Newcastle, who were languishing in mid-table, are now in a fight for European football.
The Swede had been linked with a move to Arsenal but scored two goals across two legs of football to send the Gunners crashing out of the Carabao Cup.
The Swede cannot be ruled out of Golden Boot contention. Newcastle will be hoping their talisman can continue his current form and deliver Champions League football to Tyneside.
Chris Wood – 17 goals
Chris Wood is ageing like a fine wine. The New Zealand international has been brilliant in a remarkable season for Nottingham Forest.
Wood has scored 17 league goals this season, scoring the first Forest hat-trick at the City Ground in the top-flight since 1987 when Nigel Clough bagged three against QPR.
The former Burnley striker has scored 43 per cent of Forest’s league goals this season. Without Wood, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side would surely not be in the race for European football.
Wood cannot be ruled out of the race for the Golden Boot. His and Forest’s form have not shown any sign of stopping in this campaign.
Cole Palmer – 14 goals
Cole Palmer currently sits seven goals behind Salah in the goalscoring standings. The reason he has been included in this list may seem strange.
However, Palmer has shown that he can score a number of goals in an inconsistent Chelsea side. Last season, the Man City academy graduate netted 22 Premier League goals in his first campaign as a regular starter.
Chelsea are a better side this season and Palmer will surely be presented with more opportunities to add to his tally.
The 22-year-old may be far from the favourite to win the Golden Boot award, but if anyone can go on a miraculous goalscoring run, Palmer is the player to do so.