The contest for the Premier League Golden Boot in 2021/22 came down to the wire, with Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-min sharing the honor. But who will take it in 2022/23? With Erling Haaland storming the Golden Boot race this season, some bookmakers are offering odds on who will finish as the top goalscorer without the Man City striker. However, is this a foregone conclusion? Who might challenge the Norwegian? Let’s look at the favorites and assess their chances of lifting the coveted prize.
Erling Haaland – 28 Goals
Manchester City confirmed on May 10, 2022, that they had agreed to sign Haaland after activating his €60 million (£51.2 million) release clause. The agreement was finalized on June 13, when City announced that Haaland would begin his five-year contract on July 1. He hasn’t looked back since! With Manchester City, he established numerous Premier League milestones, including becoming the quickest player in league history to score two, three, and four hat-tricks and the first player in league history to score hat-tricks in three consecutive home games.
Haaland is seven goals clear of his closest pursuer. However, the goals have dried up slightly (in the league) for the Norwegian recently, so perhaps the door isn’t fully closed in the race for the golden boot. In his last seven league matches, he only found the net on three occasions. City plays Liverpool next, which is a tricky fixture, and they also face home and away ties against Bayern Munich in Europe that could mean Haaland is rested against the likes of Southampton and Leicester – games where you would think he would score. They then face leaders Arsenal, so maybe the writing isn’t on the wall just yet. However, if you’re looking for an online sports bet with a high degree of certainty, you would probably look at Haaland to pick up the golden boot award.
Harry Kane – 21 Goals
Kane scored his first goal of the season against Chelsea in the London derby. Tottenham snatched a point in the sixth minute of injury time, bringing the score to 2-2. With that goal, Kane had 184 Premier League goals for Tottenham, equaling Sergio Agüero’s record for most goals scored for a single Premier League club. Kane broke the record the following game when he scored the only goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers, becoming the first player in Premier League history to score 185 goals for a single club. He has also become Tottenham’s all-time leading goalscorer this season, surpassing the late great Jimmy Greaves.
After going three Premier League games without a goal, Kane has three in his last two, and he hopes to finish the season strong to try and propel Tottenham into the Champions League placings. Looking at his team’s schedule, Kane will fancy himself to get on the score sheet in Tottenham’s next three games, as you would consider them all winnable. However, they then face Newcastle, Man Utd, and Liverpool back to back. Therefore, if Kane is to catch Haaland, he must put a dent in the seven-goal gap before Tottenham’s hard run of games commences.
Ivan Toney – 16 Goals
It’s been an odd season for the Brentford hitman. In terms of goals, it’s been his best performance in the Premier League. However, his season has been overshadowed by controversy off the field. If he is to catch Erling Haaland, he will need to hope that Brentford wins many more penalties. Toney has emerged as an almost faultless penalty-taker for Brentford, netting every penalty he has taken for the club, including eight in the Premier League.
Toney is in good form, scoring three in his last six for the Bees. However, Brentford faces a tough run of fixtures which is likely to test his scoring abilities. Nevertheless, these challenges bring out his best, as he has found the net against Arsenal, Man City, Newcastle, and Tottenham this season. It would take a miracle for Toney to win the golden boot this season, but stranger things have happened….yes I’m looking at you, Leicester City!
Conclusion
As long as Haaland stays fit and plays at least half of Manchester City’s remaining games, he will likely pick up this award at a canter. Granted, you can never write Harry Kane off, but he would probably need to bag at least two if not three, hat tricks in Tottenham’s remaining fixtures to catch the big Norwegian. As for Ivan Toney, I can’t see many people backing him to win this award unless you’re Ivan Toney!