5 players who scored most Premier League goals while being aged 23 or under
The Premier League has always been a hotbed for young and talented players, especially those with a lot of potential during their teenage years. English clubs have always been able to land the most prolific youngsters in the game.
The biggest clubs in England have always seen value for money among footballers who have the potential but are yet to hit their peak. Attackers aged between 19-23, if honed properly, can guarantee goals for nearly a decade. Several players have shown their potential in the Premier League era during their early 20s, but only a few of them have lived up to it.
On that note, let's take a look at five players with the most Premier League goals while being aged 23 or under.
#5 Cristiano Ronaldo- 54 goals
Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably the best player to ever grace the game and he showed the same during his first stint at Manchester United.
Sir Alex Ferguson brought the Portuguese ace to Old Trafford from Sporting CP in 2003 and Ronaldo did not look back. He quickly adjusted to the Premier League and became one of the main men for his club in the attack. His dazzling tricks, creative passes and sensational dribbling skills were only exceeded by his hunger to score goals.
ON THIS DAY: In 2003, Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first goal for Manchester United with a free-kick against Portsmouth.
The start of something special. ✨ https://t.co/tzSAIznKrr
Ronaldo joined the Red Devils as an 18-year-old and while he eventually left after six years, he scored a plethora of goals during that period. In fact, he had scored over 50 Premier League goals for Manchester United by the time he was 23. Since then, he has broken virtually all goal-scoring records in La Liga and Serie A as well.
The 37-year-old star returned to Manchester United last summer. While things have not gone according to plan, he has continued to score plenty of goals, bagginf 24 goals in 38 appearances across competitions.
#4 Romelu Lukaku- 60 goals
Romelu Lukaku recently returned to Inter Milan on a loan deal following a disastrous club-record £97.5 million move to Chelsea last summer. The Belgian had one of his worst seasons in domestic football but is now perhaps back where he really belonged.
If his second exit from Chelsea is anything like his first, Lukaku is bound to score plenty of goals. The centre-forward departed Stamford Bridge when he was only 20 after a stunning loan spell at West Bromwich Albion. He bagged 17 goals and seven assists, including a hat-trick against Manchester United, in 38 appearances. Everton decided to spend the big bucks on him and the striker delivered with goals galore.
Before he turned 23 in March 2016, Lukaku scored 60 times in the Premier League, which was quite a feat for any U-23 player at the time. Despite his subsequent move to Manchester United not working out well, Lukaku remains one of the most potent attackers in world football, provided he is played in the right system.
#3 Wayne Rooney- 71 goals
Wayne Rooney is arguably the most talented English footballer of his generation, if not of this century.
A truly gifted attacker, the Merseyside teenager had the desire, energy and hunger to be the very best in the game. Rooney was part of the Everton academy and broke into the senior squad at the age of 16. After breaking ground for three years with the Toffees, he joined Manchester United and went on to make history at the club.
But between 2002 and 2008, Rooney managed to knock in a combined 71 Premier League goals for Everton and the Red Devils. He went on to become the second-highest goal-scorer in the Premier League (208) while also becoming the highest-goal-scorer (253) in Manchester United history.
#2 Michael Owen- 91 goals
Michael Owen was one of the few English players to possess a unique skillset of speed, power and efficiency in front of goal at such a young age.
The Liverpool academy product was promoted to the senior squad whilst being a teenager (18) and the attacker was certainly up for it. Owen could wriggle past opponents comfortably and he also had the lethal ability to find the back of the net game-after-game. Hence, it's no surprise that the centre-forward managed to score a ridiculous 91 Premier League goals before he turned 23.
Michael Owen won the Ballon d'Or four days after his 22nd birthday and it doesn't get spoken about enough 🏆 https://t.co/Ay2xHrxXfE
His performances also led to him winning the prestigious Ballon d'Or award in 2001. Although Owen did not live up to his potential later in his career, the Englishman was one of the most promising young stars during the early 2000s.
#1 Robbie Fowler- 92 goals
Before Owen broke onto the scene in 1998, Robbie Fowler was ruling the roost at Liverpool. The centre-forward was the most prolific centre-forward at Anfield after the Premier League era commenced in 1992.
An efficient goal-scorer and team player, Fowler broke into the Liverpool senior team in 1993 at the tender age of 18. Once he was promoted to the first team and got used to the physicality of the league, the Englishman found the back of the net on a regular basis.
Given that his aerial ability was also outstanding, Fowler scored 92 Premier League goals before turning 23 in 1997. It was an incredible record for a youngster, purely because of the fact that no other player was as prolific in his early 20s, including Manchester United's 'Class of 92'.
The England star ended his career as Liverpool's all-time top-goal-scorer in Premier League history (128), a record which stands to date.