The 10 favourites to win the EFL Championship Golden Boot in 2026/27 (Ranked) | OneFootball

The early Golden Boot odds in the Championship have been released

The 2026/27 Championship campaign gets underway on August 14, and after a couple of underwhelming Golden Boot races, this season has the potential to have multiple players net 20 or more.

Last season, only Golden Boot winner Zan Vipotnik netted more than 20; the year before, Joel Piroe won the top scorers award with 19 goals.

Championship fans love to think back to the early 2020s, where numerous players contested for the Golden Boot at high tallies, and the likes of Aleksandar Mitrovic, Ivan Toney and Dominic Solanke would push, or even exceed, 30 goals.

Perhaps this season could see a return to that, with these early 10 favourites, according to bet365's odds, running the show in front of goal and pushing each other to the very end.

10 ? ? Pablo - West Ham United

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As it stands, Pablo is still at West Ham United, and he ranks 10th in the bookmaker's odds for the Golden Boot ahead of the upcoming campaign.

If he's going to be anywhere near the top of the scoring list in the Championship next season, he'll need to score his first Hammers goals, as the former Gil Vicente frontman failed to find the back of the net in 17 games in all competitions at the London Stadium, following his £21.8 million move in January.

He did net 10 times in 13 games in the Portuguese top flight before his move, though, so he definitely knows where the back of the net is. Perhaps all he needs is one goal for the floodgates to open in the Championship next season.

9 ? ? Morgan Whittaker - Middlesbrough

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Middlesbrough were one of the more exciting attacking sides in the Championship last season, and Morgan Whittaker ended up as their top scorer, netting 14 times in 40 outings.

The 25-year-old attacking midfielder was quite streaky in his goalscoring, though. His first two goals for the club came in back-to-back matches in October, and he'd then find the net in six consecutive outings between November and December. Following that run, he scored just three times in 16 league games.

If he can find some consistency next season, he could easily better last year's tally and push to try and better the 19 goals he scored for Plymouth Argyle in the second tier in 2023/24.

8 ? ? Jay Stansfield - Birmingham City

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Birmingham City are expected to be much improved in their second season back in the Championship, as they look to match their lofty ambitions with a promotion push.

If they do, you can imagine that Jay Stansfield will have his fingerprints all over everything good that the Blues do in an attacking sense, after he registered 16 goal involvements in their first season back at the level last year.

Many critics are still waiting for the 23-year-old to prove why Birmingham paid £15 million for him two summers ago. A Golden Boot campaign and another promotion at St Andrew's could be the way to do it.

7

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One of the Championship's most prolific goalscorers in recent times is back in the second tier with Wolves, and the bookmakers have Adam Armstrong as the seventh most likely Golden Boot winner in the 2026/27 campaign.

The 29-year-old has surprisingly never won the award in his career, despite 28- and 21-goal campaigns at the level while at Blackburn Rovers and Southampton. Last year, he netted 11 in the opening half of the season for the Saints before Wolves bought him for £7 million.

That signing was almost an indication that Wolves were beginning to prepare for life back in the Championship this summer, as Armstrong is amongst the best you can get in his position at this level.

6 ? ? Zan Vipotnik - Swansea City

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The reigning Golden Boot winner was always going to feature on the list at some point, but early predictions state that it may be difficult for Vipotnik to retain his crown.

That'll mainly be due to the amount of competition for the top scorer's award in the upcoming campaign, but perhaps also due to the fact that not many know what to expect from Swansea City's frontman this year.

Vipotnik's 23 goals came from just 13.42 expected goals, so it's unknown whether he will be able to sustain that for another year, especially after he scored just seven in his debut campaign at the level.

He'll be one of the favourites, for sure, but the bookmakers have five others ahead of him.

5 ? ? Mohamed Toure - Norwich City

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If Mohamed Toure can stay fit and healthy all season, there's no doubting the Australian frontman's ability to win the Golden Boot.

The 22-year-old arrived at Norwich City midway through last season from Danish side Randers and scored nine times in 11 second-tier outings, including two hat-tricks against Oxford United and Bristol City.

There are concerns about his health. Toure has battled with muscle injuries throughout his career thus far and missed six games while at Norwich last season due to that. But he started each of the last four Championship outings and led the line for Australia in the World Cup.

Keeping that fitness will be key to him mounting a real challenge for the Golden Boot this year.

4 ? ? Taty Castellanos - West Ham United

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There's still plenty of speculation about whether Taty Castellanos will remain a West Ham player after the transfer window closes on September 1. If he does, it would be a big boost to Nuno Espirito Santo, as he managed to get him firing at a decent rate last year.

The striker position at the London Stadium hasn't had much luck in recent years, but the Argentinian frontman netted six times in 18 top-flight outings, one of which was a wonder strike against Newcastle United in the penultimate game.

Castellanos has clear quality, so would be a dangerous Championship frontman, but after starting last season at Serie A side Lazio, it wouldn't be a surprise if he wants to return to being a top-flight frontman.

If not, he'll definitely be right at the top of the scorers' list come May.

3 ? ? Will Lankshear - Middlesbrough

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Will Lankshear has a lot of expectation surrounding his Middlesbrough arrival, with him pinpointed as the answer to Boro's struggles when it came to finishing the plethora of chances they created under Kim Hellberg last season.

The 21-year-old has the potential to become Middlesbrough's record signing, with the move from Tottenham Hotspur possibly being worth £20 million if all add-ons are satisfied, so a strong season in front of goal will definitely be expected of the young frontman.

Lankshear netted 11 times last season for a relegated Oxford side, so you'd expect that, playing in a better team who will create more chances for him, should see that number increase, and he'll be one of many targetting around 18–20 goals next year.

2 ? ? Raul Jimenez - Wolverhampton Wanderers

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He may be 35 years old, but Raul Jimenez returns to Wolves as someone who not only has remained fit for long Premier League campaigns, but knows where to find the back of the net at top-flight level, too.

The Mexican striker netted nine times in the Premier League for Fulham last season and 12 the year before. Across both campaigns, he's missed just two league outings.

With the Old Gold expected to be among the top sides when it comes to creating chances in the Championship next season, Jimenez will be the main man tasked with finishing them, and there'll be no doubt that he can.

He just misses out on top spot, perhaps due to Armstrong's presence in the Wolves side taking goals away from the 35-year-old, or maybe it's due to the quality of the man in first.

1 ? ? Jarrod Bowen - West Ham United

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There's potential that 2026/27 Jarrod Bowen could be the best player to ever play in the Championship.

His last full season at the level saw him score 22 times for Hull City in 2018/19. The following year, he scored 16 in 29 in the opening half of the campaign before West Ham bought him. Back then, he was in his early 20s, while now, he's arguably still in his prime.

In the last three Premier League campaigns, Bowen has registered 22, 23 and 20 goal involvements. It's quite frankly scary to think about what numbers he could put up in the Championship following that.

The only thing that may stop him getting his hands on the Golden Boot is if he remains a solid provider alongside his goals. If he gets double-digit assists, it may be hard for him to beat the out-and-out strikers battling him for the award.

If he just focuses on the goals, though, he could feasibly push 25 to 30, if the Hammers are as dominant as many expect them to be next season.