The new Premier League campaign is just over five weeks away folks, and the pre-season friendlies have been scheduled. The managers across the length and breadth of the country are working hard to get a winning squad together.
For some teams, it’s a case of adding just one or two quality players. For some, it’s an evolution, and others may even need an overhaul. But one asset every Premier League team needs is a goal scorer. 2024/25 runners-up Arsenal have been looking for a striker for 12 months now and are currently in advanced talks with Sporting Lisbon star Viktor Gyokeres.
Elsewhere, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah won his fourth Golden Boot last season, and he has signed a new three-year contract with the champions. No doubt the Egyptian legend will be in another battle with Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Newcastle hitman Alexander Isak next term.
But away from the headline-grabbers at the glitzy clubs, there are plenty of goal-getters who did a fantastic job for their clubs last season and who maybe didn’t quite get the plaudits they deserved.
So let’s take a look at the SBOTOP picks of the best “pound-for-pound” forwards in the top-flight.
Chris Wood, Nottingham Forest
One of the big Premier League 2025 news stories of last term was Nuno Espirito Santo’s Nottingham Forest, who stunned the big boys by staying in the top three for much of the campaign and narrowly missing out on a Champions League place. And the goals of Kiwi striker Chris Wood were a huge feature of Forest’s success.
Only Salah, Isak, and Haaland finished ahead of the 33-year-old, who made his name at Burnley, where he scored double figures for four campaigns in succession. An old-fashioned striker, Wood is strong in the air and a handful for any centre-back and has to be one of the most underrated Premier League forwards of all time.
Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa
Empty-handed after they were pipped to a Champions League place by Newcastle United on the very last day. And striker Ollie Watkins was, once again, the Villans’ most creative player, a regular assist-maker, and the club’s top scorer.
Since his £28 million transfer from Brentford in 2020, Watkins, now 29 years of age, has scored 75 goals in 184 top-flight games, and it’s a real head-scratcher (for me anyway) that he only has 18 England caps.
Jorgen Strand Larsen, Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolverhampton Wanderers finished 16th last season, and for much of the campaign, the All Golds were in some peril, eventually pulled away from trouble by the goals of Brazilian Matheus Cunha and Norwegian forward Strand Larsen.
Cunha’s exploits earned him a mega-money move to Manchester United, but in the second half of the campaign, it was Strand Larsen who really gathered some serious momentum, ending up with just one goal fewer than the main striker.
He’s a powerful player at 6’4”, with pace and strength, and his direct running can turn a defence on its heels. Wolves have activated their loan-to-buy deal following his switch from Celta Vigo, and, with the Premier League 2025 betting odds predicting another long season for the club, the Norwegian will be pivotal to their chances.
Jean-Philippe Mateta, Crystal Palace
FA Cup winners Crystal Palace will be in Europe next season and, much like Nottingham Forest, the pressures of Thursday to Sunday football could make it a testing campaign.
But manager Oliver Glasner has some very useful players in his group. Following the departure of Michael Olise to Bayern Munich, Eberechi Eze had a headline-grabbing season, and Ismaila Sarr too received plenty of plaudits.
But the most dangerous forward was French striker Mateta, who scored 14 goals, despite suffering a horrific injury during a clash with Millwall keeper Liam Roberts in the FA Cup, which left him needing 25 stitches behind his ear. He was in the build-up for Eze’s winning goal in the FA Cup final, and Mateta is worth his weight in gold.
Raul Jimenez, Fulham
Similar in some ways to Forest’s Wood, Fulham’s Jimenez is a big, strong goal getter who, at 34 years of age, is in the twilight of his career but still banging in the goals. The Mexican forward is as good with his feet as he is with his head and is deceptively quick-footed for a 6’3” striker. Jimenez leads the line superbly and is brilliant at linking up play. With 42 goals in 116 internationals, he is a Mexico legend, scoring as El Tri won the CONCACAF Gold Cup final against the USA on Sunday.
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