Newcastle United have enjoyed a slightly turbulent time in the Premier League years.
They have challenged for the title and qualified for the Champions League but also suffered relegation from England’s top flight in the modern era of the English game.
When the Magpies were successful, the forward players drove them to success. However, who have been the most prolific players in the Premier League era for the north east team?
Alan Shearer (148 goals scored in 303 Premier League appearances)
The former England captain is one of the best number nines of his generation.
After winning the Premier League title with Blackburn Rovers in 1995, Shearer returned to his boyhood club a year later for a then-world record transfer fee of £15m.
He went on to become a Newcastle talisman, not only becoming the club’s leading Premier League goalscorer but also their leading goalscorer of all time in all competitions, having found the net on 205 occasions.
Unfortunately for Shearer, he never won any silverware with the Magpies. Although, the forward made it to two FA Cup finals in 1998 and 1999.
His goals did earn him some individual awards, though, as Shearer won the Premier League Golden Boot in his first season with his beloved club. He also won Players Player of the Year in the same season.
Peter Beardsley (47 goals scored in 129 Premier League appearances)
Like Shearer, Beardsley thrived at his hometown club. The former England international initially played for the Magpies from 1983 until 1987 before playing for Merseyside giants Liverpool and Everton.
The forward returned home in 1993 and played for the Magpies until 1997 when he left for a short stint at Bolton Wanderers.
In his opening season at the north east club, Beardsley scored a career-high 21 top-flight goals. His goals earned the forward a place in the PFA Team of the Year in the same season.
Callum Wilson (45 goals scored in 91 Premier League appearances)
Having made his name at Bournemouth, Wilson joined the Magpies for an undisclosed fee reported to be £20m.
The forward has turned out to be a bargain signing, as he has been a regular goalscorer in a black and white shirt.
Wilson is still at United at the time of this writing. His most prolific Premier League season so far came in 2022/23, with his 18 goals helping Newcastle to qualify for the Champions League.
The forward’s goals tally may have been even better if it were not for injury problems.
Andy Cole (43 goals scored in 58 Premier League appearances)
When it comes to goalscoring ratios, Andy Cole’s is one of the best in the club’s history. The forward joined the Magpies in February 1993 from Bristol City for a club-record fee of £1.75m.
In his maiden Premier League campaign, season 1993/94, Cole enjoyed the most prolific league campaign of his career, scoring 34 goals in 40 top-flight appearances.
The following season, he scored nine goals in 18 top-flight games before completing a highly controversial £ 6 million deal with winger Keith Gillespie joining the north east club.
His goals in season 1993/94 earned Cole the Premier League Golden Boot and the PFA Player of the Year awards.
Shola Amoebi (43 goals scored in 295 Premier League appearances)
Although born in Nigeria, Amoebi moved to England at five years of age and became something of a cult hero for the Magpies.
Amoebi spent 14 years with Newcastle. His most prolific Premier League campaign was 2005/06, when he scored nine goals in 30 appearances.
Les Ferdinand (41 goals scored in 68 Premier League appearances)
Ferdinand joined Newcastle in 1995 for a fee of £6million from QPR. The forward spent just two seasons with the north east club but was highly potent in front of goal.
The former England international’s most prolific season for Newcastle was in his debut campaign, as he scored 25 goals in 37 top-flight appearances.
The goals earned Ferdinand the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award in the same season and a place in the PFA Team of the Year.
Ferdinand’s goals were enough to win a place in the Newcastle Hall of Fame.
Papiss Cisse (37 goals scored in 117 Premier League appearances)
The Senegalese forward joined the north east club in January 2012 from Freiburg for a reported fee of around £9.3m.
Cisse made an immediate impact, scoring 13 goals in his opening 14 Premier League games. He spent four and a half years at Newcastle but struggled to replicate the scoring form of his first six months at the club.
Nolberto Solano (37 goals scored in 230 Premier League appearances)
The Peruvian star became a cult hero with the north east club, having enjoyed two spells with Newcastle. His first spell with the club came from 1998 until 2004, with his second spell from 2005 to 2007.
Solano won the Newcastle Player of the Year award in 2001/02 and also had the most Premier League assists in 1999/2000.
Rob Lee (34 goals scored in 267 Premier League appearances)
The midfielder joined Newcastle from Charlton Athletic for a fee of £700,000 in 1992, and he spent a decade in the centre of the park with the Magpies.
Lee’s most prolific Premier League campaign was in season 1994/95, scoring nine goals in 35 top-flight appearances.
The London-born star’s performances earned Lee a place in the PFA Team of the Year in 1996. The midfielder was inducted into the Newcastle Hall of Fame in 2019.
Ayoze Perez (33 goals scored in 143 Premier League appearances)
The Spanish winger reportedly rejected moves to Barcelona and Real Madrid in favour of a £3million switch to Newcastle from hometown club Tenerife in 2014.
Perez spent five years at Newcastle, four years in the Premier League, and one in the Championship.
Ironically, the winger’s most prolific campaign in the Premier League for the Magpies was in his last season with the club, season 2018/19, when he scored 12 goals in 37 league appearances.
Who are your favourite players from our list?