The Premier League Golden Boot award is given to the player in the Premier League who led the league in goals scored during a particular season.
Teddy Sheringham was the first recipient of the Golden Boot in 1993 Thierry Henry has won the Golden Boot four times, more than any other player in history. Henry won it three in a row from 2004 to 2006 and including his win in 2002, he won his four Golden Boots during a five-year period. Alan Shearer is the only other player to win the award in three consecutive years, doing so from 1996 to 1997.
Harry Kane won the award in 2016 and 2017 before Mohamed Salah took it in 2018. Last season, Salah made it two in a row when he finished in a three-way tie with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Sadio Mane with 22 goals each.
This was how the final table for top goal scorers during the 2018-19 EPL season looked like:
Player | Club | Nationality | Stat | |
1 | Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | Arsenal | Gabon | 22 |
1 | Sadio Mané | Liverpool | Senegal | 22 |
1 | Mohamed Salah | Liverpool | Egypt | 22 |
4 | Sergio Agüero | Manchester City | Argentina | 21 |
5 | Jamie Vardy | Leicester City | England | 18 |
6 | Harry Kane | Tottenham Hotspur | England | 17 |
6 | Raheem Sterling | Manchester City | England | 17 |
8 | Eden Hazard | Chelsea | Belgium | 16 |
9 | Callum Wilson | AFC Bournemouth | England | 14 |
10 | Richarlison | Everton | Brazil | 13 |
10 | Raúl Jiménez | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Mexico | 13 |
10 | Alexandre Lacazette | Arsenal | France | 13 |
10 | Glenn Murray | Brighton and Hove Albion | England | 13 |
10 | Paul Pogba | Manchester United | France | 13 |
10 | Gylfi Sigurdsson | Everton | Iceland | 13 |
Three Africans shared the Golden Boot award last season with Gabon’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Senegal’s Sadio Mane and Egypt’s Mohamed Salah finishing with 22 goals each. Sergio Aguero of Premier League Champions Manchester City finished next with 21 goals. The top four in the Golden Boot table for 2018/19 are in the Top 5 current odds board to win it in the next term. However, Tottenham’s Harry Kane is the man on top of the odds board as of July 22.
Here are the odds to become the 2019-20 EPL season top goal scorer. These odds were taken from 888Sport as of 7/22/19:
Player | Odds |
---|---|
Harry Kane | 5.5 |
Mohamed Salah | 6.5 |
Sergio Aguero | 7 |
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | 8 |
Sadio Mane | 13 |
Raheem Sterling | 17 |
Jamie Vardy | 21 |
Gabriel Jesus | 26 |
Alexandre Lacazette | 26 |
Marcus Rashford | 26 |
Roberto Firmino | 34 |
Sebastian Haller | 41 |
Romelu Lukaku | 41 |
Olivier Giroud | 51 |
Who Are The Favorites?
Harry Kane is the team captain of England who plays for the Tottenham Hotspur. The 26-year old is coming off a 2018 FIFA World Cup where he led England to 4th place, their best finish since 1990. He also earned the Golden Boot award during that tournament. Kane was Europe’s top goal scorer for 2017, breaking the seven-year stranglehold of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He was the Premier League Golden Boot winner in 2016 and 2017. Many believe Kane would have won the Golden Boot last season had it not been for an ankle injury which forced him to miss some games.
Mohamed Salah was one of the three co-winners of the Golden Boot during the last term. Salah will be playing his third Premier League season with Liverpool and he has scored a total of 54 goals in 74 EPL appearances. Salah was also the Golden Boot winner in 2018 with 32 goals and he is expected to be among the top contenders again this coming term.
Sergio Aguero of the Premier League champions Manchester City has been the top goal scorer for his squad. The 31-year old from Argentina has scored a total of 164 goals in 239 appearances over eight years at Manchester City. Aguero was 4th in last year’s Golden Boot final table with 21 goals or just one behind the co-winners.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the captain of Gabon’s team and plays for the Arsenal Gunners. In 2018, he became the most expensive African player during his transfer from Borussia Dortmund to Arsenal. In his first season with the Gunners, he scored 22 goals in 49 appearances. He was the 2015-16 Bundesliga Player of the Year winner.
Sadio Mane is Mohamed Salah’s teammate at Liverpool and was the third co-winner of last season’s Golden Boot. Since coming to Liverpool from Southampton in 2016, Mane has scored a total of 45 goals in 92 appearances. Mane was named to the All-tournament team at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
Wins?
Harry Kane had 17 Premier League goals and was among the favorites to win the Golden Boot before an ankle injury ensured that last season would be an All-African affair. The 26-year old from the Tottenham Hotspur won the Golden Boot in 2016 and 2017. He was a cinch to win against last season before he got hurt. After an impressive 2018 FIFA World Cup performance, Kane is should be among the top goal scorers during the coming term if he is healthy.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Salah became the sixth footballer to win the Golden Boot in consecutive seasons, joining Kane in that club. The 27-year old from Egypt was one of the three co-winners of the Golden Boot in 2018-19 but is coming off a disappointing 10th place finish in the 2019 African Cup of Nations tournament where the host nation lost in the Round of 16.
I like Mohamed Salah here not only because he has the better betting value but because he is healthy. We saw Kane return to his club’s starting XI after the injury and score some goals in his comeback but I just think that the Golden Boot may be too much to expect of him given last term’s injury. But who knows, really? Kane is young and had shown no ill-effects of the injury during his return. But in my opinion, though, Salah is on the rise after winning several Player of the Year awards in 2018. Sure, we didn’t see him shine in the African Cup of Nations but that’s why he’s dangerous. He’ll be looking to redeem himself and prove his worth. Prediction: Mohamed Salah