They are the headline grabbers, the dream makers and they cost a whole lot of money… and every club at every level desperately needs a goal scorer.
The Premier League is the richest competition in the world, and so follows that the biggest stars will, at some point in their career, turn up in England and, right now, two of the best in the business are fighting it out to be the top dog. The leaders in the race for the Golden Boot, Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Liverpool’s Mo Salah clashed in the top flight match of the weekend on Sunday and the Reds’ Egyptian genius came out on top with an assist and a goal; and the latest Premier League 2024 betting odds are pointing clearly towards Merseyside.
Salah and Haaland are at the top of the pile and rightly dominate the Premier League 2024 news stories; but there are plenty more hitmen up and down the country who have the ability to get the fans on their feet as they bust the net. So which of the other forwards make my SBOTOP Premier League top seven?
Nicolas Jackson: Chelsea
I have a pal who is a keen Chelsea fan and he spent much of last season scratching his head as he watched the Blues’ new £32m signing score 14 goals from 35 games but also miss a hatful of chances. Chelsea fans can be hard to please but I thought that a little harsh as to score double figures in the Premier League, especially in your first season, is no mean feat. And this season the Gambian star has kicked on and has already bagged eight goals and made three assists from 13 games.
He scored a superb goal to set Chelsea on the road to victory over Aston Villa on Sunday and Jackson has added a cool head to his pace, strength and eye for goal…but he could have had another!
Alexander Isak: Newcastle United
Just when it seemed he was back to fitness and firing again Newcastle’s Swedish star Alexander Isak went of injured after just 21 minutes of a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace at the weekend. It remains to be seen how serious his injury is, but if Isak is out for a prolonged period that would be a huge blow to the Magpies. He arrived at the start of the 2022/23 season for a reported fee in excess of 60m Euros and took time to settle, but last season Isak was superb, a real unit at 6ft 4in, scoring 21 goals and coming third in the race for the 2024 Golden Boot.
This season he has scored four goals and made two assists in an interrupted campaign.
The Magpies lost their momentum when they met West Ham United last week and if the scoring Swede is out for long Newcastle will struggle to win a European place.
Chris Wood: Nottingham Forest
There’s an unexpected name in third place in the top scorers list, well, unexpected if you are outside Nottingham and maybe Burnley. Chris Wood, the goal getting Kiwi is nearing his 33rd birthday and he’s in the form of his life with nine goals already this season, bagging the winner in Forest’s 1-0 win over Ipswich Town on Saturday. With the Clarets, Wood spent five seasons in the top flight as a one goal in three games striker. This is no flash in the pan for Wood, a throwback to the old days with his bustling performances and determination to score goals in any way; he’s a constant menace with substance over style.
Yoane Wissa: Brentford
The Bees’ pair of Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, with eight goals and one assist each are terrorising defences up and down the country and they have fired Thomas Frank’s team up to eighth place in the Premier League. There’s a strong case for including either player in my list and Cameroon star Mbeumo has been a quality forward for Brentford for over four seasons; but I’m plumping for Wissa who has scored his goals in three fewer games, having missed five weeks with an ankle injury. The fleet of foot Congo star scored three goals in his first four games and he has come back firing, bagging a brace in a recent 3-2 win over Bournemouth and he scored again as the Bees whacked Leicester City 4-1 on Saturday.
Liam Delap: Ipswich Town
My fifth vote to make up the Premier League Magnificent Seven goes to Ipswich striker Liam Delap who has scored six goals and made one assist in his first season in the top flight. The Tractor Boys will find it difficult to survive after two successive promotions and they are currently in the bottom three. If Delap, a 21 year old product of Manchester City’s academy, can progress as quickly as Cole Palmer has at Chelsea, Ipswich will have a fighting chance.
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