As we launch into a new Premier League season, we’ve been churning out football content, including stuff specific to EPL Fantasy.
This time, we run through the Premier League’s five best strikers heading into season 2023-24.
They immeasurably improve a team and strike fear into opposition defenders. They’re generally high profile and command high salaries; the most valued commodity in world football.
And you can’t win in football without a great striker.
Possessing a world class goal scorer provides a team hope of the highest order. But who’s the best of the best?
Throughout its 30-year history the Premier League has been blessed with some of the greatest strikers to ever grace grass. Shearer, Aguero, Henry, Rooney, Cole. Take your pick. All were the same beast but a different animal.
This season is no different. There are some fantastic strikers of all shapes and sizes, plying their trade in England.
So let’s rank our top five number nines, rolling into the 2023-24 Premier League season. Here are the EPL’s best strikers.
Best Strikers in the Premier League – Top 5
1. Erling Haaland, Manchester City
Is there anything that hasn’t already been said about the Norwegian record breaker? He was signed to deliver City the treble. He did that. He had many skeptics before he kicked a ball on English soil. He made them look silly.
To put it plainly, he is a 23-year-old titan who finds goal scoring easier than breathing, bending runs between defenders as leisurely as us mortals stroll through the park.
Left foot, right foot, head, chest, acrobatic finishes, tap ins, thunderous strikes. You name it, he scores it. 36 goals last season. Is there any doubt he’s the world’s best striker? No.
2. Harry Kane, Tottenham Hotspur
It’s somewhat of a bold prediction, but the thinking is that Aussie Ange manages to fend off interest from Bayern Munich and keep Kane. 30 goals last season is, in any other season, outstanding and deserving of major plaudits. Without Harry Kane, Spurs’ fortunes may have been more akin to those of Chelsea.
Not only is he arguably the best goal scorer in the league, but also one of the finest playmakers. His ability to drop deep is second to none for a number nine. Last season, he created 14 big chances but only registered three assists, with the form of Heung-Min Son, Dejan Kulusevski, and Richarlison going some way to explaining this creative shortfall.
It’s exciting to think about how Kane will fare with Ange at the helm, especially after a few seasons under pragmatic coaches. Hopefully the Australian can return Heung-Min Son to career best form this upcoming season and we can see the return of one of the Premier League’s best combinations.
3. Gabriel Jesus, Arsenal
Eddie Nketiah’s form meant Arsenal didn’t miss the Brazilian’s goals during his injury spell. But his game is more than goals. His touch, movement, and intelligence are important to a free-flowing Arsenal attack.
More often than not, Jesus would drift into spaces on the left of Arsenal’s front three, allowing Gabriel Martinelli to bomb into the vacant space. With the arrival of Kai Havertz, who’s best work in Germany came as an attacking midfielder making runs into the box, expect the Brazilian and German to form a dangerous duet.
*Published before recent news Jesus will be out for a length of time after having a procedure on his knee
4. Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa
From the time Unai Emery took over in October until the end of the season, few strikers were in better form than the Englishman. Of his 15 league goals this season, 14 came under the Spaniard’s tutelage.
Not much changed positionally. He was still tasked with leading the line. But Watkins managed to find another level as Villa stormed into European football. It’s both exciting and scary what a full season under Unai Emery could unlock for Villa’s main man.
5. Alexander Isak, Newcastle
Perhaps not the Newcastle striker you might have expected. But the Swede showed in his limited game time last season his top tier class. 10 goals in 22 games and an ability to beat players akin to Eden Hazard.
Nothing exemplifies Isak’s cocktail of ability better than his assist for Jacob Murphy against Everton last season. Collecting the ball on halfway, he zigged and zagged his way through a juvenile looking defence before poking a delicate dink across goal for the winger. Pure class with the ball essentially glued to his feet.
