Every 2023-24 Premier League club’s No.9 without Erling Haaland has been ranked | OneFootball

Highlights

Play Video

We all know that Erling Haaland is, by some considerable distance, the best number nine in the Premier League right now. Manchester City’s star striker broke the record for most goals in a single Premier League season during his first year in England and has continued to shine during the opening weeks of the current campaign.

But take Haaland out of the equation (he’s in a league of his own, after all) and how the Premier League’s other leading strikers compare against each other? Well, the guys on Sky Sports’ Saturday Social had their say this weekend, and it’s fair to say their selections have caused quite the stir. Let’s take a closer look.

E: Odsonne Edouard, Raul Jimenez, Carlton Morris, Richarlison, Fabio Silva

Despite scoring three goals in his first four appearances this season, Crystal Palace’s Odsonne Edouard finds himself in the worst category alongside Fulham’s Raul Jimenez, Luton Town’s Carlton Morris, and Fabio Silva of Wolves. As you can see, Tottenham’s Richarlison is also here, despite having enjoyed some decent seasons with Everton in the past.

The Brazil international, who has scored 20 goals in 44 games for his country, only managed to find the net in one Premier League game during his debut season at Spurs. That number obviously has to increase following Harry Kane’s departure.

D: Zeki Amdouni, Beto, Rasmus Hojlund, Cameron Archer

A new arrival in the Premier League, the jury is still out over Burnley’s Switzerland international Zeki Amdouni. The same can be said for Everton’s £26 million summer signing Beto, who has arrived from Italian outfit Udinese, and Sheffield United’s £18 million signing Cameron Archer.

Manchester United’s Rasmus Hojlund is only 20 but is under big pressure to hit the ground running this season following his £72 million move from Atalanta. The Denmark international looked bright on his debut against Arsenal and will undoubtedly bring far more to the table than Anthony Martial, who probably should have been moved on years ago. It’s hard to imagine that Hojlund will still be in category D come the end of the season.

C. Dominic Solanke, Evan Ferguson, Nicolas Jackson, Darwin Nunez, Taiwo Awoniyi, Michail Antonio

Tipped for big things as a youngster at Chelsea, it’s not unfair to say that Dominic Solanke has struggled to justify the hype throughout his senior career so far. That said, the 25-year-old Bournemouth striker appears to be looking more comfortable in the top flight these days and was involved in a career-best 16 Premier League goals (six goals, 10 assists) last season.

Current Chelsea striker, Nicolas Jackson, has shown signs of quality during his first few weeks in England but has also missed some big chances. In fact, the Senegal international is statistically the worst finisher in the Premier League this season, at the time of writing. Evan Ferguson, on the other hand, has just become the sixth-youngest player to score a Premier League hat-trick after netting all of Brighton’s goals in a 3-1 win over Newcastle. The 18-year-old, who has been compared to Wayne Rooney and Alan Shearer, certainly has the potential to become one of the league’s best strikers but category C seems fair right now.

Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez is a particularly interesting one. We saw against Newcastle that Liverpool’s No.9 has the ability to be devastating in front of goal, but at other times he can be so wasteful. The panel eventually settled on category C for the Uruguayan, which is probably about right. The same is also true for Nottingham Forest’s Taiwo Awoniyi, and West Ham’s Michail Antonio, two good strikers who bring so much to their teams but aren’t quite top tier.

B. Gabriel Jesus, Ollie Watkins, Alexander Isak

Gabriel Jesus caused plenty of debate among the Saturday Social panel but they eventually decided to put Arsenal’s Brazilian forward in category B. The 26-year-old scored 11 Premier League goals and registered seven assists during his debut with the season with the Gunners. His best return in a single Premier League campaign came during the 2019-20 season, when he netted 14 goals and provided eight assists for Manchester City.

Joining Jesus in B were Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins (15 goals and eight assists in the Premier League last season), and Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak (10 goals and two assists). Isak, a £63 million signing from Real Sociedad, is only 23 years old and has the potential to develop into one of the league’s best forwards, but Callum Wilson (18 goals, six assists) posted far more impressive numbers for the Magpies last term.

A. Ivan Toney, Julian Alvarez, Son Heung-min

Scoring 20 Premier League goals in a season for Brentford is a seriously impressive feat, so it’s hard to argue that Ivan Toney doesn’t deserve his place in the top category. The England international, 27, is currently banned until January 2024, which may have cost him a move to an even bigger club this summer.

Julian Alvarez didn’t get as many starts as he would have liked during his first season at Manchester City, but the 23-year-old’s reputation as a top striker was significantly enhanced thanks to his eye-catching performances for Argentina at the 2022 World Cup. Joining the South American in the top tier is Son Heung-min, Kane’s successor as captain who can become Spurs’ main man following the England international’s move to Bayern Munich.

That’s how the Soccer Saturday panel have rated the Premier League’s strikers, anyway. As you can probably imagine, the rankings have caused huge debate online, with many fans of the aforementioned clubs upset about where their strikers have been placed within the five categories.

But in defence of the panel, it all comes down to person opinion, at the end of the day. Aside from Haaland being untouchable, there’s debate to be had over the rankings of every other striker on the shortlist. All possess their own unique qualities and have the potential to silence their critics with performances on the pitch over the coming weeks and months. There’s every chance that these rankings would look completely different next May.