Leo Collis: It will be a battle of Scandinavian strikers at the top of the Golden Boot charts in 2025-26, featuring two from Sweden and one from Norway.
One of the Swedes might be hindered by a transfer saga that could keep him out of the first few fixtures, leaving him with some work to do to catch up to the others.
Alexander Isak’s standoff with Newcastle United signals he’s played his last game for the club. Assuming there isn’t a dramatic U-turn with the Magpies and a likely switch to Liverpool, or elsewhere, isn’t confirmed by the end of August (the transfer window closes on September 1), he could miss at least three games.
Erling Haaland wasn’t quite at his formidable best last season, and while he’ll up his scoring rate in 2025-26 compared to the previous campaign, his ambitions for the Golden Boot will be scuppered by his alarming susceptibility to the injury bug.
Viktor Gyökeres, on the other hand, is a much sturdier athlete, and despite the issues associated with getting to grips with a new team in a new league, he’ll hit the ground running in the English top flight with Arsenal. Defenders won’t quite know how to handle him, which will give him a distinct advantage in the final third.
For Sporting CP in Portugal last season, he scored more than a goal per game. While he might not have such a hit rate in his new home, he’ll still bag a bundle and ultimately claim the Premier League’s scoring title.
Nick Akerman: Mohamed Salah’s performance in the Community Shield defeat to Crystal Palace perhaps removed some boldness from this prediction.
Add in his drop-off at the backend of the last campaign, and there’s genuine doubt as to whether he will be able to get close to the 29-goal haul that topped last season’s Golden Boot chart.
My pick this year is for Haaland to bounce back and to break the 30 barrier again. His “bad” season still saw him score 22 times in the division. That’s just by default, with Manchester City going through their worst spell in recent history and the striker missing eight games through injury.
Gyökeres will perform exceptionally well. Arsenal had a lot of chances and having someone to finish them will improve Mikel Arteta’s team.
The manager’s loyalty to Kai Havertz may chop into the Sweden international’s playing time, especially if the Gunners are winning, so there’s potential for the forward to come off early when he should be adding to his numbers.
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