Premier League Golden Boot race: Haaland’s biggest competitors revealed | OneFootball

Manchester City’s Erling Braut Haaland is on a mission to reclaim his position as the deadliest striker in the Premier League.

After winning the Golden Boot in back-to-back seasons, he was usurped last term by Mohamed Salah, who fired Liverpool to the Premier League title with 29 goals.

Haaland finished third in the race for the 2024/25 Golden Boot, just one goal behind Alexander Isak, who bagged 23 goals for Newcastle United.

The Norwegian striker struggled with injury problems last season, but was still able to put up mouth-watering numbers. He has started 2025/26 as he means to go on.

Haaland has scored nine goals in seven league games and is topping the goalscoring chart.

With such a head start, it would take a herculean effort from his competitors to catch up. But which other players could put up a fight for the Premier League Golden Boot this season?

Liverpool, Arsenal & Chelsea stars all in contention

After his 23-goal haul last season, Liverpool forked out a British record £125 million to sign Isak from Newcastle last summer, but things haven’t gone according to plan.

That came after they spent around £70m to snap up Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt.

Isak has yet to open his goalscoring account. But Ekitike hit the ground running and already has three goals in six games, including one on his Premier League debut against Bournemouth.

There have been questions about manager Arne Slot’s plans for his big-money strikers, but if he can find the right formula to get them both firing on all cylinders, they could provide competition for Haaland.

Salah, who was the most prolific forward in the Premier League last season, seems to be succumbing to age. He has scored just twice in seven league games.

Unless he rediscovers his goalscoring form after the international break, he may not be in the running this season.

Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres is another one to keep an eye on. While his recent performances have been dreadful, there’s a feeling he could spark into life once he adjusts to the pace of the English league.

After a frustrating summer searching for a striker, Newcastle seem to have struck gold with Nick Woltemade, who has bagged three goals in four games.

He scored 12 goals in 28 Bundesliga games last season for his former employers, and Newcastle fans will be hoping he can better that tally in the Premier League.

Joao Pedro flew out of the blocks after joining Chelsea and scored in back-to-back Premier League games against West Ham United and Fulham in August.

However, his form has gone off the rails since, and he’s now on a six-game goal drought.

With injuries threatening to derail Cole Palmer’s campaign, it’ll be interesting to see who steps up to shoulder the goalscoring burden for the Blues.

Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo looks like he’ll be Haaland’s closest competitor after starting the season with six goals in seven games.

However, with key players from the big teams struggling to get their numbers up, Haaland could have a free run at a third Golden Boot in four years if injuries don’t derail his campaign.