Premier League Top Goalscorer Odds: Five Layers in the Hunt for the Golden Boot

It’s a battle which has generally been between Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland in recent years, though the race feels more open this time around, with several of the big clubs boosting their ranks this summer. Nobody has been busier than the champions Liverpool, who have picked up Hugo Ekitike and reportedly have Alexander Isak in their sights, while Arsenal have secured the services of Viktor Gyokeres. Throw in new Chelsea frontman Joao Pedro, the red hot Cole Palmer and new Manchester United forward Benjamin Sesko and you have a serious race. 

With that in mind, we’ve taken a look at the key contenders for this year’s Premier League golden boot according to the latest betting odds. 

The winner of two of the last three golden boot awards, it’s no surprise to see Erling Haaland at the  top of this list. The Norwegian has rarely struggled for form since joining Manchester City, finding the net an astonishing 85 times in 97 Premier League games and smashing the record for the most goals in a campaign when scoring 36 in his debut season. He struggled by his lofty standards last season, scoring just 22 goals in the league, though it’s certainly worth writing that off considering how much Pep Guardiola’s struggled for consistency as a whole. 

The loss of Kevin De Bruyne, the man with the second most Premier League assists in history, is a slight concern for Haaland, but his side have an embarrassment of riches even without the Belgian. If City can click back into place, the 11/8 about Haaland taking the golden boot looks more than fair.

Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland have swapped the golden boot between themselves over the last four years, with the Egyptian netting 29 times to comfortably top the charts in the 2024-25 campaign. 

That form earned the 33-year-old a new two-year contract with the Reds and it will be interesting to see if he can surpass Thierry Henry by becoming the first man to win this award on five occasions. He ought to give it his best shot, though a huge issue could well be the African Cup of Nations competition, which could rule Salah out for as many as six games should Egypt go deep into the tournament. On top of this, Liverpool have bolstered their ranks with astute forwards Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz and are rumoured to be in the market for Alexander Isak, meaning there are likely better options than Salah, who is trading at 5/1 with TonyBet at the time of writing. 

Arsenal have made a habit of being the Premier League bridesmaids of late, finishing as runners-up in each of the last three seasons. If you listen to fans and pundits, they will tell you that the final piece in the puzzle is a top-class forward. 

Enter Swedish forward Viktor Gyokeres, who has been purchased for a cool €65.80 million from Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon. The 27-year-old doesn’t strictly have Premier League experience, but he has lit up European football over the last couple of years, scoring 68 goals in 66 Primeira Liga games. Making the transition to English football is regularly used as a criticism towards players moving to England, but Gyokeres is a hardened veteran of Championship football, scoring 38 goals across two seasons at Coventry City. This is undoubtedly a step up in class, though it’s worth noting that Gyokeres scored six goals in the Champions League last season, including a hat-trick against Manchester City. If he can carry that momentum to the Emirates, the 13/2 about him scooping the golden boot could prove to be big. 

Having bagged 23 league goals last year, the media hype around Alexander Isak has been impossible to escape this summer, though the majority of that has been speculation around a move to Liverpool. 

The 25-year-old has been nothing short of irresistible since moving to the north east three years ago, scoring 54 goals in 86 games and helping the Magpies end a 56-year trophy drought by winning the Carabao Cup. The Swedish international has seemingly made his position at St James’s Park untenable by trying to force through a move, meaning that the 6/1 with Betway feels risky at present, though he would be a force to be reckoned with if getting his move to Merseyside. Isak is one to monitor between now and transfer deadline day. 

The bite of the cold is inevitable, but for Cole Palmer, it seemed to be less biting and more nail-biting last season. With a breakout season after his €47 million move to Chelsea, featuring an incredible 22 goals and 11 assists, Palmer was competing with some of the most deadly attackers in the league. 

With an astonishing 214 points, Palmer was the third highest scorer on the Fantasy Premier League game, though he would need to add a considerable amount to his goal return of 15 strikes if he is to win the golden boot. It’s certainly feasible as he has continued his red hot form into the summer, with two goals in the Club World Cup Final that earned a handshake from Donald Trump. However, with his side purchasing both Joao Pedro and Liam Delap to occupy the ‘Number 9’ role, Palmer feels more like a lively outsider than a bona fide challenger. 

Irishluck’s Take on the 2026 Premier League Golden Boot Race

The race for this year’s golden boot feels as open as it has been for years, with several names likely to be fancying their chances for the crown. 

It has more often than not boiled down to a straight race between Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah in recent years, though with the latter being engaged at the African Cup of Nations in the New Year, the door is ajar for someone else to challenge. Haaland will be tough to stop for a revived City side, but Viktor Gyokeres could give him a run for his money. The Swede has proven electric in European football over the last couple of years and he could prove to be overpriced for an Arsenal side that has been crying out for a deadly target man.