Top 10 goalscorers in the race for the European Golden Shoe 2019-20
Sunday night's round of Serie A fixtures will mark the end of what has been an eventful 2019-20 football campaign for European football leagues. Despite a loss in their final outing, Cristiano Ronaldo's Juventus lifted their ninth consecutive Serie A trophy at the Allianz Stadium, and the Portguese's second in two years.
In the same vein of Juve's domination in Italy, German champions Bayern Munich lifted their eighth consecutive Bundesliga title, while PSG did the same for the third time on the spin. Barcelona failed to achieve this feat as Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid dethroned the 2017/18 and 2018/19 winners.
Liverpool ended their 30-year wait for top-flight glory as Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool stormed to the Premier League trophy in record time. Their historic season saw them amass a staggering 99 points, just one shy of the record tally.
Apart from stars playing for the title-winning squads, there have been several other players all across Europe who have impressed profoundly in the 2019-20 campaign. Here, we take a look at the top ten players who finished as the leading contenders for the European Golden Shoe this season.
Note: Goalscorers from Europe's top-five leagues will have their points doubled by a coefficient of two due to scoring in more difficult leagues, while the goals scored in lesser leagues will be multiplied by that of 1.5.
#10 Shon Weissman | Wolfsberger AC | 45 points
Wolfsberger's talismanic frontman Shon Weissman has enjoyed a stellar debut campaign in Austria. Having made a move to Maccabi Haifa after a string of loan spells, the Israeli forward could not have asked for a better start to life at his new club.
Wolfsberger's new number nine scored 30 goals in 31 games for his club and ended the season as the highest scorer of the Austrian Bundesliga. However, his overall point tally stands at 45, due to his goals being multiplied by a coefficient of 1.5.
The centre-forward also had seven assists to show for, and averaged a goal every 89 minutes for the Carinthia-based club. Should he repeat his achievements for a second consecutive season, it won't be long before a bigger club come calling for his services.
#9 Jean-Pierre Nsame | Young Boys | 45 points
Another player from one of Europe's relatively lower leagues, Jean-Pierre Nsame, has enjoyed a stellar season in Switzerland's top-flight. The two-time Cameroonian international has been a vital figure for Young Boys since his 2017 move, and has played an all-important role in his third year as well.
The 27-year-old scored 30 goals in 31 Super League games for league leaders Young Boys. Given that the team collectively scored 77 goals in the campaign, his tally is all the more impressive. However, Nsame's point tally is the same as that of Weissman, due to the 1.5 coefficient. The towering striker also had three assists to his name.
Although his feats on the European front have not been nearly as impressive, having scored two goals in 481 minutes in the Europa League, his domestic record is sublime. He averaged a goal every 48 minutes in the 2019/20 campaign.
#8 Romelu Lukaku | Inter Milan | 46 points
Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku hit the ground running with his new club after a superb individual campaign in Italy. The former Manchester United striker was pushed to the exit door in the wake of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's appointment at the helm of Old Trafford.
Under Antonio Conte, the Belgian scored a whopping 23 goals in his first season in Italy. Inter had a mixed bag of a season but ultimately finished just a point adrift of Juve's 83. Lukaku has established himself a key member of Conte's set-up, contributing heavily in the build-up phases apart from being clinical in the box.
The Belgian international also had two assists to go with his 23 goals and attempted just under three shots per game. His overall point tally stands at 46 due to the coefficient of two.
Also read: 10 Premier League signings that have failed to impress (2019-20)