The Premier League is the biggest and richest league in the world. That naturally means many of the world's greatest strikers are plying their trade in England's top flight.
But who exactly is the best? That's always a tricky question, given different strikers do different things. One might be a fantastic one-v-one player, while another could be the perfect link-up man in his team's attack.
Of course, there is one category that stands out as key: goals. That's ultimately the metric you judge strikers by, and how they get those goals is important. So we're going to provide the data and let you be the judge.
With all of that in mind, Football FanCast has had a look at the numbers to see who stands out in the Premier League right now. And for those saying 'we all know who the best is, it's obviously Erling Haaland' – well, you're right. He is. But that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of interesting stuff, here.
What are the key stats for strikers?
We've primarily focused on attacking stats here and essentially how players help their team going forward. Primarily, of course, that's goals.
We're also looking at their expected goals, how they're performing against their expected goals, their assists, their key passes, their dribbling, and how many shots a player helps create per 90 minutes.
We'll explain exactly what these all mean when we get to them.
What is a striker?
Yes, that's a ridiculous question but we wanted to comment on exactly how we're picking players. Essentially, we're focusing on players who have played at least a couple of games as a central striker so far this season. It's still early days, after all.
Some players, like Mohamed Salah, might be up there in the stats but we think you're pushing it to call them a striker. He's a winger or a wide forward – and that's a very different role.
And then there are the likes of Marcus Rashford, Son Heung-min or Julian Alvarez, who do play up top but also in wider or deeper roles. We're including them for now – but if they end up primarily in other roles, we'll stop featuring them.
Who is the Premier League's top scorer?
Erling Haaland
7
Evan Ferguson
4
Bryan Mbuemo
4
Odsonne Édouard
4
Six players
3
No real explanation needed here – we're just judging the top scorer in the league right now. That's currently Erling Haaland, and we're going to make a wild prediction here and say we will never have to change that fact throughout the season.
Haaland is unquestionably the best goalscorer in the country and, arguably, the world. His record-breaking campaign last season is under threat this year and few would be surprised if he surpasses 36 goals.
As for the others, Evan Ferguson certainly boosted his numbers with a hat-trick already. Bryan Mbeumo and Odsonne Édouard have started well, too – but we imagine 2nd place onwards will change dramatically over the coming weeks.
What striker has the highest xG in the Premier League?
Erling Haaland
7.2
Bryan Mbuemo
4.1
Nicolas Jackson
3.3
Yoane Wissa
2.7
Odsonne Édouard
2.6
Expected goals, or xG, assigns a percentage chance of a goal to each shot taken, based on data of previous similar shots. Have an effort on the goal line? Expect 0.9 (there's still a very small chance you could miss). Trying to smash one from 30 yards through a crowd of players? More like 0.1. Add those totals up and you have the number of expected goals.
As you can see, Haaland leads the list here. This is essentially the hallmark of his play – getting chances. Haaland's positioning and ability to turn just about everything into a chance leads to plenty of high-quality efforts. Having Kevin De Bruyne supplying you helps, too, of course.
Beyond that, these are probably not the names you expected. We're still very early into the season, though, and these could change completely after another matchday. Still, some encouraging signs for a few players – notably Nicolas Jackson, who only has the one goal so far.
Who is the most clinical striker in the Premier League?
Evan Ferguson
+1.6
Odsonne Édouard
+1.4
Son Heung-min
+1.4
Taiwo Awoniyi
+1.2
Michail Antonio
+1.1
This one measures how well a player is scoring against what's expected. In other words, these players have more goals than their chances statistically suggest they should.
Early on in the season, it's easy to inflate this one. Score a lucky hat trick, and you'll be massively outperforming – but unlikely to sustain it.
Odsonne Édourard is one to mention. He's got one of the highest total xG scores in the league right now – and is still outperforming it. That reads very positively for Crystal Palace fans.
Evan Ferguson is certainly another to watch this season. The young Brighton striker impressed last season and has a hat trick already this time out. If he can continue to perform in and around his xG, Ferguson will dramatically increase his stock over the course of the campaign.
Which striker has the most assists in the Premier League?
Julián Álvarez
3
Jean-Philippe Mateta
3
Ollie Watkins
2
Taiwo Awoniyi
2
Quite simply, the number of assists by strikers this season. An assist is a pass that leads directly to a player scoring.
This one is a little messy. Julián Álvarez, for instance, has played as an attacking midfielder at times this season. Jean-Phillipe Mateta, quite ridiculously, is yet to even start in the Premier League.
This is another that could change quite dramatically, then, as certain players cement their positions and others get more time on the pitch. For now, though, here are your leaders.
Which Premier League striker creates the most?
Julián Álvarez
17
Ollie Watkins
9
Son Heung-min
9
Erling Haaland
7
Taiwo Awoniyi
6
The big difference between this and assists is that it doesn't rely on anyone else. After all, you could create a dozen chances per game but if your teammate can't finish, you won't get any assists. Key passes, then, shows just how many times a player has set up a teammate for a shot.
Julián Álvarez clearly dominates this one, but again, he's played a little bit deeper this season. We might be moving him off the list soon.
Outside of that, it's clear that taller, physical strikers are generating chances. Ollie Watkins, Erling Haaland and Taiwo Awoniyi all fit that mould and all look creative right now. It's also worth noting that both Watkins and Awoniyi appear on the top assist list – something Haaland doesn't quite manage. Of course, there are two ways to read that – either the chances Haaland creates aren't as good, or the players just aren't finishing them.
Then there's Son Heung-min – another playing multiple positions. Tottenham Hotspur are trying him more centrally this season, though, and he's contributing a lot in response. If he cements himself as a striker, we expect him to feature on plenty of these stats going forward.
Which Premier League striker has the highest SCAs per 90?
Beto
5.81
Danny Welbeck
5.29
Son Heung-min
4.68
Julián Álvarez
4.41
Eddie Nketiah
4.02
Shot-creating actions, or SCAs, are any contribution by a player that goes on to create a shot within two more actions. It sounds more complicated than it is – basically, anything you do that leads to someone shooting. That could be the pass or dribble before someone else makes an assist. It could be a shot that's saved by the goalkeeper but a teammate has a rebound.
Everton's new signing, Beto leads the way heading into this weekend. Now, this is judged per 90 minutes, so the player benefits from not having played that much. He's managed to be involved in 10 shots, though – from passing, shooting or taking players on.
Danny Welbeck is proving to be a creative force for Brighton, too. His passes have led to 11 shots, a massive number given he's played a little over half the total possible minutes.
Eddie Nketiah is showing just how useful he can be at Arsenal. Mikel Arteta has his wingers playing off the forward – and it's working.
Which Premier League striker is the best dribbler?
Matheus Cunha
14
Nicolas Jackson
11
Michail Antonio
9
Alexander Isak
7
Four players
6
This is a fairly easy one to grasp – the number of times a player has successfully dribbled past their defender. It's a fantastic way of breaking down a defence and something counter-attacking sides rely on from their usually sole striker.
That's certainly reflected here. Wolves, Chelsea, West Ham United and Newcastle United all look to break quickly with what is usually a lone striker.
Matheus Cunha is the standout in terms of numbers but it's actually Michail Antonio that we'll focus on. The West Ham striker has been successful with 69% of his take-on attempts, more than any of the others mentioned. To hit that mark with nine successes is simply fantastic.
All stats taken from Opta data on FBref; correct as of 18th September 2023.