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The Premier League has seen some of the top strikers in world football ply their trade on these shores, given the one task of finding the back of the net on a regular basis. Having a frequent goalscorer can turn a team from a title chaser to a title winner, or suffering relegation to avoiding relegation. Every team needs and desires a striker of this nature.
In the Premier League, there are a select band of players that deserves particular recognition for the number of goals they’ve netted in a single season. A total of seven players have made our focused shortlist of those who have indeed netted those precious goals to elevate them to a level above many others.
Pep Guardiola once said that scoring a goal is the hardest thing to do in football; an opinion shared by many with a passion for the game. Therefore, we offer centre stage, once more, to those who have scored over 30 goals in a Premier League campaign.
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Erling Haaland – 36 goals (2022-23)
Remember the name, tell your kids and everyone you come across! Just be glad to be alive during a time where you witnessed Erling Haaland net 36 goals in a 38-game Premier League season. He has broke this particular record, but many more should flow. He is only 22-years-old, and all this has come in his first season of Premier League football. Everyone are now aware of what he can do.
He was very much seen as a missing piece of the jigsaw in Manchester City’s quest to finally win a UEFA Champions League, and he more than played his part in that, alongside with the Premier League and FA Cup to complete a historic treble. Many suggest Haaland will get better now he has had a season under his belt, so this time next year he could end up beyond 36 goals.
Alan Shearer – 34 goals (1994-95), 31 (93-94), 31 (95-96)
As things stand, Alan Shearer remains the Premier League record holder in terms of goals scored. Harry Kane is expected to bypass this at some point, but that should not and will not devalue what Shearer has done at this level. On three occasions he netted above 30 goals in a season, although one of those was when teams played 42 games in a single season, even so it’s a great achievement!
Although Shearer is perhaps best known for his time at Newcastle United, none of these seasons came during his time in the North East. All was during his time at Blackburn Rovers, where he indeed won the Premier League title in 1994-95. It was also in this season he won the Premier League Player of the Year award, which go alongside his seemingly never-ending individual honours.
Andy Cole – 34 goals (1993-94)
Whilst this also came within a 42-game season, we can’t just ignore the fact that Cole scored the goals he did. When we think of the name Andy Cole, then goals just instantly come to mind. He just scored goals, and a lot of them. Bare in mind, these 34 goals came in his first full season playing for Newcastle United, also his first full season playing at the highest level. That’s an instant impact!
34 goals across 40 Premier League appearances meant other clubs took notice, none more so than Manchester City, who signed him mid-way through the following season. He continued to score goals for fun at Old Trafford under Sir Alex Ferguson. However, in 93-94, he not only won the Premier League Golden Boot, but also the PFA Young Player of the Year. To do all this aged 23 enhances the achievement.
Mohamed Salah – 32 goals (2017-18)
Salah managed to enjoy the best season of his career in 2017-18 when incredibly netting 32 goals across 36 Premier League appearances. Even so, it was only enough to guide his side to a 4th place finish, but the fact this was his first season since signing from Roma means it is fair to say he hit the ground running!
The Egyptian would actually net ten league goals fewer the following season, but he remained as important as ever and has continued to do so at Anfield, where he still remains to this day. Not only is he a legend of Liverpool Football Club, but of the Premier League in general. His trickery and skill from his preferred wide right role is something he will always be associated with.
Cristiano Ronaldo – 31 goals (2007-08)
It was during this spell that Ronaldo was really starting to gather momentum and seriously alert the rest of the world that he is ‘the man’ on the footballing scene. Manchester United won both the Premier League and UEFA Champions League during this season, and Ronaldo was understandably a big reason why. 31 goals in 34 Premier League games from a wide right position, like Salah, is incredible.
A year or so later, he would make the move to Real Madrid, and he would go on from strength to strength as a goalscoring force. He would form into more of a striker, converting from wide right, allowing his goalscoring numbers to reach historic levels. Ronaldo continues to play to this day, and his legacy as one of the greatest players of all-time is not questioned.
Luis Suárez – 31 goals (2013-14)
Another Liverpool man to get onto this list is another big fans’ favourite at Anfield, even to this day. Suárez is everything you want in a striker; tenacious, hard-working, skilful and talented. He had it all, and the only thing missing from his time at Liverpool was a Premier League trophy. His goals deserved it and his exploits in this season and the last earned him a move to Barcelona.
For all that his team won nothing in this particular season, Suárez himself received several individual gongs. Not only did he gain the Premier League Golden Boot, but also the Premier League Player of the Season and European Golden Shoe, to name but three awards he earned. A spot in the PFA Team of the Year was another reward for an incredible campaign.
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