New Delhi: The Premier League is widely regarded as the toughest league in world football and is arguably the best league to play in. Owing to such a reputation since it’s inception back in 1992, many greats of the game have graced England’s premier football competition to hone and showcase their skills.
The likes of David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, Eden Hazard, Steven Gerrard were all competing to be crowned Champions of England at various points.
While the Premier League has had many iconic players across positions, the abundance of gifted strikers the league has seen over these past years is almost unparalleled. From the days of Alan Shearer in the mid-90s to Wayne Rooney in the mid-2000s to Sergio Aguero in the 2010s to Erling Haaland now, all of them were considered the best strikers in the league at that time, but where might they land on a list where all of them are combined under one bracket?
Picking out the best striker to ever play in the league is no easy feat but it is one that we shall try and figure out today. There are a number of factors that need to be taken into consideration before coming out with the list. Going purely by goalscoring numbers, it has to be Alan Shearer but when putting things into context and looking at his team’s achievements, will he still remain at the top?
Criteria for the rankings
The rankings of the 15 best strikers in the league are based on multiple criteria and not purely their goals. While the number of goals will of course help a particular player’s case, other factors also need to be taken into account, such as:
- Individual achievements
- Premier League titles won
- Contribution to team’s league finishes
- Consistency and longevity of a player
Top 15 greatest strikers of the Premier League
| Rank | Player Name | Teams | No of Goals | Assists | Games Played |
| 15 | Teddy Sheringham | Tottenham, Man Utd, West Ham, Portsmouth, Nottingham Forest | 146 | 62 | 418 |
| 14 | Dennis Bergkamp | Arsenal | 87 | 88 | 315 |
| 13 | Luis Suarez | Liverpool | 69 | 39 | 110 |
| 12 | Jaime Vardy | Leicester City | 140 | 46 | 317 |
| 11 | Ruud Van Nistelrooy | Manchester United | 95 | 14 | 150 |
| 10 | Robin Van Persie | Arsenal, Manchester United | 144 | 67 | 280 |
| 9 | Andy Cole | Man Utd, Blackburn, Newcastle, Fulham, Man City, Portsmouth | 187 | 69 | 415 |
| 8 | Eric Cantona | Manchester United | 70 | 55 | 156 |
| 7 | Michael Owen | Liverpool, Man Utd, Newcastle, Stoke City | 150 | 39 | 326 |
| 6 | Harry Kane | Tottenham Hotspur | 213 | 50 | 320 |
| 5 | Didier Drogba | Chelsea | 104 | 64 | 254 |
| 4 | Sergio Aguero | Manchester City | 184 | 55 | 275 |
| 3 | Thierry Henry | Arsenal | 175 | 80 | 258 |
| 2 | Wayne Rooney | Manchester United, Everton | 208 | 114 | 491 |
| 1 | Alan Shearer | Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers | 260 | 68 | 441 |
Notable mentions that just about miss out on the top 15: Jermaine Defoe, an extremely prolific scorer for Tottenham and was going strong even after being well into his 30s for some of the smaller clubs in the league. Erling Haaland is also someone who is unlucky to miss out, purely due to the fact that he’s just played two full seasons in the league till now.
He is someone is can break through the top 15 if he stays in the league for a few more years. Fernando Torres, Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink, Robbie Fowler and Robbie Keane all prolific strikers in their own accord but miss out on account of never having won the league.
