With Mohamed Salah having departed Liverpool, the field for the Premier League's Golden Boot appears wide open, though Erling Haaland remains the clear favourite to add to his remarkable collection of scoring titles.
The Manchester City striker has claimed the award in three of his four seasons since arriving in English football, netting a record 36 goals in 2022-23 before following up with 27 in each of the last two campaigns. His overall tally of 112 goals in 132 Premier League appearances underlines just how difficult he will be to dislodge, even under new manager Enzo Maresca. Haaland arrives at the new season in ominous form after scoring seven goals for Norway at the World Cup, a haul that would have been enough to win the Golden Boot outright in more than half of all previous tournaments.
Still, several players will hope to mount a serious challenge. Alexander Isak, now at Liverpool following his £125m switch from Newcastle, finished runner-up in last season's race with 23 goals, only behind Salah and ahead of Haaland himself. However, injuries limited him to just four goals in 22 appearances across all competitions after his move. Should he stay fit and receive better service under new Reds boss Andoni Iraola, Isak could justify the price tag that made him one of Britain's most expensive signings.
Brentford's Igor Thiago enjoyed a breakout campaign, scoring 22 Premier League goals in his first full season in England after recovering from a long-term injury the year before. That form earned him a first call-up to the Brazil squad, and he featured for his country at the World Cup. His future at Brentford is uncertain, though, with Manchester United reportedly among the clubs monitoring him.
Chelsea's Joao Pedro will look to build on the 15 league goals he scored last season following his move from Brighton. Competition for a starting striker role has intensified, notably with former Brighton team-mate Danny Welbeck also at the club, and much may depend on how new manager Xabi Alonso deploys his forwards. Notably, Alonso's title-winning Bayer Leverkusen side of 2023-24 spread goals across the squad, with no single player reaching more than 14 in the Bundesliga that season.
At Arsenal, Viktor Gyokeres had a solid if unspectacular first season in England, scoring 14 league goals and 21 in all competitions as the Gunners ended a 22-year wait for the title. Encouragingly for Arsenal, 14 of those 21 goals came after the turn of the year, hinting at growing familiarity with the Premier League. With the pressure of ending the title drought now lifted, Gyokeres could kick on further this season.
Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins remains one of the division's most consistent scorers, with 91 league goals since joining in 2020 — third only to Haaland and Salah in that period. Yet his 16 goals last season suggest he would need to significantly improve on his best-ever tally to seriously contend for the Golden Boot.
Manchester United's Benjamin Sesko showed promise in his debut Premier League campaign, finishing with 11 goals for the season. Notably, nine of those came after Ruben Amorim's departure in January, a period in which only Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White scored more in the league. At just 23, Sesko could be one to watch under new manager Michael Carrick.
Historically, the Golden Boot has not always gone hand-in-hand with the title — only 12 of the 34 Premier League seasons have seen the division's top scorer play for the champions. The scoring bar has also risen sharply in recent years, with the last four winners all reaching between 27 and 36 goals, compared to totals below 23 as recently as 2021-22.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.