'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The Premier League is the richest football league in the world, and is widely regarded as the most competitive one too.
Unlike in other top flights across Europe, any Premier League team can beat another on their day. In the near three-decade history of the competition, no team except Manchester United (twice) has done the three-peat.
Considering the above factors, many top players, especially goalscorers, have graced the Premier League over the years. Some of these players are still active in the competition.
On that note, here's a look at the ten highest Premier League goal tallies by a player in a calendar year since the turn of the century. All stats are as per transfermarkt or Premier League unless mentioned otherwise.
Trending
Note: Mohamed Salah, who has scored 25 Premier League goals this year (2021) narrowly misses out.
#10 Alan Shearer - 27 (2002)
Alan Shearer is one of the most lethal strikers in Premier League history. The all-time top scorer (260) in the competition is also the only player to score over 100 Premier League goals for multiple clubs.
He won three consecutive Premier League Golden Boot awards in the mid-90s, winning the last one in 1996-97. In 2001-02 and 2002-03, he scored 40 Premier League goals, with 27 of them coming in 2002.
For all his glorious exploits in the competition, Shearer's lone Premier League title came with Blackburn Rovers in 1994-95.
#9 Harry Kane - 27 (2015)
Harry Kane is one of the most prolific active strikers in the Premier League and is one of a handful of players with over 150 goals in the competition. With all his goals coming for one club - Tottenham Hotspur - it is one of the record tallies in the competition for a single club.
In 13 seasons in the competition, Kane has scored 167 goals, but only two of those have come in 15 games this season. Nevertheless, considering his quality, it's only a matter of time before he finds his scoring boots again.
The three-time Premier League Golden Boot winner scored 46 goals in 2014-15 and 2015-16, with 27 of these strikes coming in 2015. The 28-year-old won the Golden Boot in 2015-16, scoring 25 times.
#8 Sergio Aguero - 27 (2016)
From one prolific Premier League striker, we move to the next. Sergio Aguero is a bonafide legend of the competition.
The all-time Manchester City top-scorer has a plethora of records in the English top flight. With 184 strikes in ten seasons in the competition - all for City - Aguero is the most prolific Premier League goalscorer for a single club. He also has most hat-tricks (12) in the competition.
The five-time Premier League winner scored 44 goals in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 campaigns, with 27 of these strikes coming in 2016. However, City failed to win the competition in both campaigns.
#7 Mohamed Salah - 28 (2018)
Mohamed Salah is one of a handful of active players on this list. The Liverpool ace, who has 112 goals in the Premier League, has been in blistering form this season.
He is already up to 15 strikes for the season, which includes the first-ever hat-trick at the home of record Premier League champions Manchester United. This campaign, Salah created a number of milestones.
Salah became the first player to score in five consecutive Premier League opening-weekend games. He then entered the 100-goal club in the competition before overtaking Didier Drogba (104) to become the most prolific African goalscorer in the Premier League.
The two-time Golden Boot winner was on a tear in 2017-18 and 2018-19, netting 54 times. More than half of these strikes (28) came in 2018. Salah scored 19 times in Liverpool's first Premier League-winning campaign in 2019-20.
#6 Jamie Vardy - 29 (2019)
Jamie Vardy is one of the feel-good stories of the Premier League. From playing non-league football a decade ago to being an unlikely Premier League winner, Vardy has come a long way.
The 34-year-old, with 127 strikes, is one of the most prolific active goalscorers in the competition. He scored 24 times in Leicester City's fairy-tale 2015-16 Premier League triumph. However, he won his lone Golden Boot in the competition four seasons later, scoring one fewer than he did in 2015-16.
Vardy scored 41 goals in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 Premier League campaigns, with 29 of these strikes coming in 2019.
#5 Luis Suarez - 29 (2013)
Luis Suarez made his name as a prolific scorer in only four seasons in the Premier League.
He scored 31 times in 2013-14 in what turned out to be his final campaign in the English top flight. However, Liverpool spectacularly imploded in the title race despite being in control for large swathes.
The Uruguayan netted 54 times in 2012-13 and 2013-14 Premier League campaigns, with 29 of these strikes coming in 2013.
#4 Ruud van Nistelrooy - 30 (2003)
Ruud van Nistelrooy scored almost 100 goals in five hugely successful seasons in the Premier League, all with Manchester United, in the early 2000s.
The Dutchman netted 25 times in 2002-03, winning his only Golden Boot award and helping Manchester United to the league title that campaign. In his debut campaign in the English top flight in 2001-02, Van Nistelrooy netted 23 times.
In 2003-04, the 45-year-old produced another 20-goal league season, netting exactly 20 times. The flying Dutchman later also enjoyed a prolific stint with Real Madrid in La Liga.
#3 Thierry Henry - 34 (2004)
Thierry Henry is one of the most prolific goalscorers in the history of the Premier League.
The 1998 FIFA World Cup and 2000 European Championship winner scored 175 goals for Arsenal in the competition. That tally is bettered only by two other players - Wayne Rooney (183) and Sergio Aguero (184) - for most Premier League goals for a single club.
The winger-turned-striker is the only player to win four Premier League Golden Boot awards. He won the last three in as many years between 2003 and 2006.
Henry, a two-time Premier League winner, scored 30 times in Arsenal's memorable Invincibles campaign in 2003-04. Continuing his good form into 2004-05, the Frenchman netted another 25 league goals.
Henry scored at least ten times in each of his first eight seasons in the English top flight. He scored once in four games in a short second stint in the competition in 2011-12.
#2 Robin van Persie - 35 (2011)
Robin van Persie is another lethal marksman to have graced the English top flight. The 38-year-old scored nearly 150 goals in the competition, with almost 100 of them (96) coming for Arsenal.
The two-time Golden Boot winner enjoyed a prolific eight-season spell in the Premier League with the Gunners. However, it was only after moving to Manchester United in the summer of 2012 that Van Persie won the competition.
Van Persie netted 48 Premier League goals in 2010-11 and 2011-12, with 35 of these strikes coming in 2011.
#1 Harry Kane - 39 (2017)
Harry Kane is the only player to appear multiple times on this list. That's because he scored a record 39 Premier League strikes in 2017.
The three-time Golden Boot winner has netted at least 20 league strikes in four consecutive seasons between 2014-15 and 2017-18. In his last two campaigns in this period, Kane netted a staggering 59 times, with 39 of these goals coming in 2017.
Kane won his third Golden Boot award last season, netting 23 times.
With 14 assists, the Englishman also topped the Premier League's assists chart, winning the Playmaker of the Season award.
