5 favorites to win the Premier League golden boot
The Premier League has always been home to some of the finest strikers on the planet. Players like Thierry Henry, Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen, Alan Shearer, Robin Van Persie, Dimitar Berbatov, Fernando Torres and Didier Drogba are just a few of the names that have lit up the English top-flight over the past two decades.
Having a prolific goalscorer leading the line is essential for a football team that's looking to mount a challenge on all fronts. A striker who can sniff out opportunities and knows exactly where to be at to maximize chances can be the difference in tight situations.
Premier League has quite a few prolific goalscorers
The English Premier League continues to house some of the finest striking talents in the world. Tottenham Hotspur marksman Harry Kane won the Golden Boot in the 2020-21 season with 23 goals to his name. If you go by the numbers, you will see that the 2020-21 campaign wasn't much of a striker's season.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the five favourites to win the Premier League Golden boot in the 2021-22 season.
#5 Timo Werner (Chelsea)
Timo Werner's inclusion could be baffling to many as he was the farthest thing from a prolific striker in his debut Premier League campaign with Chelsea. In fact, the Stamford Bridge outfit might have sealed Champions League qualification more comfortably had Werner not been so casual in front of goal.
The 25-year-old scored just six goals in 35 Premier League appearances for the Blues in the 2020-21 season. But he wasn't a flop signing as he was also able to conjure up 12 assists. Werner's link-up play is excellent but he just hasn't looked sharp in front of goal.
However, it's interesting to note that it wasn't very far back that Werner was among the top goalscorers in Europe. In the 2019-20 season, he had scored 34 goals and provided 13 assists in 45 matches across all competitions for RB Leipzig.
His playmaking was good even then but his goalscoring rate has plummeted. Now that he has settled down and had a great season at team level with Chelsea, he might be a much improved player in the upcoming season.
A much improved Werner will score plenty of goals and there will be no shortage of quality service around him.
#4 Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
Jamie Vardy is yet another Premier League striker who had a bit of an underwhelming 2020-21 season by his own standards. It didn't look like Vardy had lost a yard of pace but something was just not working for him last term. He still managed a decent haul of 15 goals and nine assists from 34 appearances for Leicester City.
The Foxes have added midfielder Boubakary Soumare and striker Patson Daka to their lineup. Vardy is 34-years-old but he definitely has it in him to be a prolific goalscorer for Brendan Rodgers' men for at least a couple more seasons.