The Premier League can claim to be one of the most entertaining football leagues the European game has to offer. The league has seen some exceptional teams and goalscorers since rebranding from the English First Division in 1992.
We focus our attention on those goalscorers today as we look at the players who have enjoyed the most prolific seasons in the Premier League. Here are the top ten:
Erling Haaland (36 goals for Manchester City in season 2022/23)
The Norwegian superstar arrived at City from German giants Dortmund in the summer of 2022. He had already been prolific for BVB. However, Haaland took his goalscoring to the next level in his debut campaign in Manchester.
He scored an incredible 36 goals in 35 top-flight appearances, becoming the most prolific goalscorer in one single season in the Premier League’s history.
Any doubts over his ability to transfer his goalscoring from the German top flight to the Premier League were dismissed definitively, as Haaland’s goalscoring helped the Citizens to achieve a treble of the Premier League, the FA Cup and maybe most importantly, the Champions League.
Andy Cole (34 goals for Newcastle United in season 1993/94)
The forward burst onto the Premier League scene in the 1993/94 season with an incredible 34 goals in 40 top-flight appearances in the top-flight. (It is important to note that in the 1993/94 season, there were 46 top-flight games).
His goalscoring exploits that season were enough to win Cole the PFA Young Player of the Year. It was his only individual award, and perhaps surprisingly, he never won the Golden Boot again during his long and prolific playing career.
Alan Shearer (34 goals for Blackburn Rovers in season 1994/95)
The former England captain enjoyed the most prolific season of his career in season 1994/95, as his 34 goals in 42 appearances powered Blackburn Rovers to their only English top-flight during the Premier League era.
His goals were enough to see Shearer given the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award and being named in the Premier League Team of the Year.
Mohamed Salah (32 goals for Liverpool in season 2017/18)
In his debut season at Liverpool, ‘The Egyptian King,’ as he later became referred to, netted a highly impressive 32 goals in 36 Premier League appearances.
The season was the most prolific of his football career yet and won the forward both the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year awards. Salah has remained incredibly consistent in front of goal, scoring at least 19 goals in his six Premier League campaigns. He also shared the Golden Boot in seasons 2018–19 and 2021–22.
Alan Shearer (31 goals for Blackburn Rovers in season 1993/94 and 1995/1996)
This is Shearer’s second entry on our list, as he fired home 31 goals in both seasons, 1993/94 and 1995/1996. Shearer won the Premier League Golden Boot in three straight seasons, including the title-winning 1994/95 campaign, while also winning the award in season 1996/97, when he scored 25 goals in his debut season at hometown club Newcastle United.
Cristiano Ronaldo (31 goals Manchester United in season 2007/08)
The Portuguese star scored 31 goals in 34 Premier League appearances in his penultimate campaign in Manchester, helping the Red Devils win the Premier League title in the process.
The season saw Ronaldo pick up his only Golden Boot in the English top flight, while his goals also contributed to the former Sporting star winning the 2008 Ballon d’Or. He also won the Premier League Player of the Year for the second time in the 2007/08 season, having also claimed the award in the previous campaign.
Luis Suarez (31 goals for Liverpool in season 2013/14)
The Uruguayan star added real bite to the Liverpool attack during his time on Merseyside. He enjoyed the most prolific campaign in the English top-flight in season 2013/14, as he topped the scoring table with 31 goals in 33 appearances.
His performance in front of goal helped Suarez earn both the PFA Fans’ Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year awards. His goals also earned Suarez a big move to Catalan giants Barcelona in the summer of 2014.
Kevin Phillips (30 goals for Sunderland in season 1999/20)
The diminutive forward enjoyed a prolific career with Sunderland. However, the most prolific campaign of his career came in the 1999/2000 season, as Phillips fired home 30 goals to win the Premier League Golden Boot and the European equivalent too.
His extraordinary goalscoring campaign led to Phillips being crowned as the Premier League Player of the Year.
Thierry Henry (30 goals for Arsenal in season 2003/04)
The Frenchman is an Arsenal legend. However, Henry’s most prolific season of his career campaign was during the 2003/04 season, when he scored 30 times in 37 appearances to help the Gunners claim the Premier League title, claiming the Premier League Golden Boot.
Henry claimed both the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and PFA Fans’ Player of the Year awards in 2003/04 for the second straight season.
Harry Kane (30 goals for Tottenham in seasons 2017/18 and 2022/23)
The England captain has been incredibly prolific in front of goal for nearly a decade, scoring at least 17 goals in his last nine seasons in the Premier League. Kane’s most prolific seasons came in 2017/18 and 2022/23.
Ironically, though, Kane’s Golden Boot-winning campaigns were not in the above campaigns. Instead, he claimed the Premier League Golden Boot in the 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2020/21 seasons. Kane also made the PFA Team of the Year in season 2017/18.