The race for the Premier League Golden Boot is one of the most closely followed individual competitions in world football. Every season, the league’s finest strikers and forwards battle for the honour of finishing as the division’s top scorer, and the 2025-26 campaign has produced a fascinating contest between several of the game’s biggest names.
The Leading Contenders
Mohamed Salah — Liverpool
Mohamed Salah’s goalscoring record in the Premier League is nothing short of extraordinary, and the 2025-26 season has added another remarkable chapter. At 33 years of age, Salah continues to defy the conventional wisdom about when forwards begin to decline, posting numbers that would be exceptional for a player in his peak years.
Salah’s game has evolved under Arne Slot. While the trademark left-footed curler from the right channel remains his most potent weapon, Slot’s system has given Salah more opportunities in central areas, and the Egyptian has taken advantage with several composed finishes from inside the six-yard box. His movement off the ball has always been underrated, and this season it has reached new levels of sophistication, finding pockets of space that defenders simply cannot track.
What makes Salah’s season even more impressive is his contribution beyond goals. His assist numbers place him among the league’s top creative players, and his work rate in pressing from the front has been a cornerstone of Slot’s tactical setup. Liverpool’s title challenge owes an enormous debt to Salah’s brilliance.
Erling Haaland — Manchester City
Erling Haaland’s arrival in the Premier League redefined expectations for goalscoring in the division, and his third season in England has continued the trend. The Norwegian’s physical attributes — his pace, power, and aerial ability — make him a unique threat, and his finishing remains clinical.
Haaland’s goal output has been slightly lower than his record-breaking debut season, but context matters. Manchester City’s creative supply has not been as consistent as in previous years, with Kevin De Bruyne’s fitness issues reducing the quality of service to the striker. When De Bruyne plays, Haaland’s numbers spike significantly, a testament to the Belgian’s ability to find his striker with precisely weighted passes.
Despite the occasional barren spell, Haaland’s ability to score in bunches keeps him firmly in the Golden Boot conversation. His hat-trick against Bournemouth in December was a reminder that on his day, there is no more devastating finisher in world football. His goals will be crucial if City are to challenge for the title in the closing stages of the season .
Alexander Isak — Newcastle United
Alexander Isak has emerged as one of the Premier League’s most complete centre-forwards. The Swedish international combines technical elegance with predatory instinct, and his 2025-26 campaign has been his best in English football.
Isak’s ability to create chances for himself sets him apart from many traditional number nines. His close control in tight spaces, his capacity to beat defenders in one-on-one situations, and his composure in front of goal have made him Newcastle’s most important player. Eddie Howe’s system channels much of the team’s attacking play through Isak, and the forward has responded with a series of match-winning performances.
His best display of the season came in a dominant performance against Tottenham, where Isak scored twice and produced an assist in a comprehensive victory. That match showcased the full range of his abilities: a header from a cross, a curling finish from the edge of the box, and a selfless pass to set up a teammate. Isak’s consistency over the course of the season, rather than any single spectacular display, is what makes his Golden Boot challenge so credible.
Cole Palmer — Chelsea
Cole Palmer’s rise from Manchester City academy graduate to Chelsea’s talisman has been one of the stories of recent Premier League seasons, and the 2025-26 campaign has seen him cement his status as one of the best attacking players in the league.
Palmer’s goal output has been impressive, but it is the manner of his scoring that stands out. Free kicks, penalties, long-range strikes, close-range finishes — Palmer’s repertoire is remarkably varied for a player still in the early stages of his career. His composure under pressure, particularly from the penalty spot, has been a key asset for Chelsea, and his technical quality draws favourable comparisons with the finest playmakers in Premier League history.
While Palmer may not quite match the pure goal tallies of Salah and Haaland, his importance to Chelsea’s attacking play and his potential for a late-season surge make him a contender who cannot be dismissed.
Bukayo Saka — Arsenal
Bukayo Saka’s development from promising teenager to world-class winger has been one of the defining arcs of the modern Premier League. In 2025-26, Saka has added another dimension to his game with an increased goal output that reflects his growing confidence in front of goal.
Saka’s ability to influence matches in multiple ways — through dribbling, crossing, set-piece delivery, and goalscoring — makes him uniquely valuable. His goals have come from a variety of positions and situations: cutting inside to finish on his left foot, arriving at the back post to convert crosses, and striking from distance with a technique that has improved markedly. As Arsenal push for the Premier League title , Saka’s goals could prove the difference.
The Supporting Cast
Beyond the five leading contenders, several players are posting respectable numbers that could see them climb the scoring charts in the final months of the season.
Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) has been Unai Emery’s focal point in attack, and his movement and finishing have produced a strong return. Watkins’ partnership with the creative players around him at Villa Park has been one of the most effective in the league.
Son Heung-min (Tottenham) continues to score with the consistency that has defined his Spurs career. The South Korean’s ability to find the net from seemingly impossible angles remains one of the Premier League’s great pleasures.
Dominic Solanke (Tottenham) has enjoyed a productive first full season in north London, adapting to Postecoglou’s system and providing a different kind of threat to Son.
Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea) has improved significantly in his second Premier League season, with his movement and finishing becoming more refined under Enzo Maresca’s guidance.
Historical Context
The Premier League Golden Boot has been won by some of the greatest strikers in football history, from Thierry Henry and Alan Shearer to more recent winners like Salah, Haaland, and Harry Kane. The 2025-26 race sits comfortably within this tradition, with the top scorers demonstrating different styles and strengths that reflect the tactical diversity of the modern game.
Salah is chasing his fourth Golden Boot, which would tie him with Henry for the most in Premier League history. Haaland, meanwhile, is looking to recapture the extraordinary form of his debut season, when he scored 36 league goals to shatter the single-season record.
Scoring Trends This Season
The 2025-26 Premier League has seen a slight increase in the overall goals-per-game average compared to the previous season. Several factors contribute to this trend.
The tactical evolution towards higher defensive lines, driven by the desire to press opponents and win the ball back quickly, has created more space behind defences for attackers to exploit. Strikers with pace — Haaland, Isak, and Salah in particular — have been the primary beneficiaries, finding opportunities to run in behind that were less frequent in the more cautious tactical setups of previous years.
Set pieces have also contributed significantly to the goal tallies of several players. Arsenal’s dominance from corners and free kicks has boosted Saka’s numbers, while Chelsea’s proficiency from dead-ball situations has padded Palmer’s total. The investment in specialist set-piece coaches across the league has increased the value of these situations, and the players who are both targets and takers of set pieces benefit accordingly.
The quality of chance creation in the Premier League remains exceptionally high. Midfielders like Martin Odegaard, Kevin De Bruyne (when fit), and Bruno Fernandes continue to supply their strikers with opportunities, and the league’s best forwards are converting those chances at a rate that underlines the depth of attacking talent in English football.
What Decides the Golden Boot
Several factors will determine the final outcome:
Fitness: The player who stays available for the most matches has a natural advantage. Injuries and fatigue in the closing weeks can derail even the most prolific scorers.
Penalty duties: Spot kicks provide a reliable source of goals, and the players who take penalties for their respective clubs have an edge. Palmer and Salah are both on penalty duty, adding to their tallies.
Team form: Strikers score more goals when their teams are playing well and creating chances. The fortunes of Arsenal, Liverpool, City, and Newcastle will directly influence their forwards’ final numbers.
Fixture difficulty: The run-in matters. Players facing a sequence of matches against weaker defences may see their totals inflate, while those with tough fixtures may find goals harder to come by.
The Golden Boot race adds an extra layer of intrigue to an already gripping Premier League season . Whether Salah adds to his legacy, Haaland reasserts his dominance, or a dark horse emerges to claim the prize, the competition will run until the final day of the campaign.
For a broader look at how the league’s individual brilliance fits within the global context, see our ranking of the world’s best leagues .