'%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 World Cup is over. The pre-season formalities are over and the new Premier League season is almost upon us. Players have returned to their clubs after a well-deserved vacation and the fans are eagerly waiting for the best league in the world to kickoff. The big clubs have splashed millions of pounds to attract some of the finest talent to England. But unlike previous years, no big-name striker has made a move to England as yet. So this time around it will be up to the usual suspects to bang in the goals and come up with the goods.
In recent years the Premier scoring charts have been dominated by the likes of Sergio Aguero, Harry Kane, Romelu Lukaku and Mo Salah. In addition to these names, the likes of Roberto Firmino, Gabriel Jesus, Eden Hazard and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are expected to do the bulk of the scoring for their respective teams.
Kane, who was denied a hat-trick of Golden Boots last season by Mo Salah who himself romped in 32 goals, will be desperate to get his crown back. If Aguero stays fit for the majority of the season he will also be in contention for the top prize.
Hazard and Lukaku who had brilliant World Cup campaigns with Belgium will shoulder the responsibility of scoring goals for their respective teams. Aubameyang, who scored 10 goals in the second half of last season for Arsenal, will be looking to continue his goal scoring exploits under Unai Emery.
Apart from the usual suspects, the Premier League has a bunch of talented attackers who can spring a surprise and get themselves in contention for the Golden Boot.
Alexandre Lacazette
French international Alexandre Lacazette, whom Arsenal signed from Lyon, had a respectable goal tally of 17 goals in his first season. A prolific goalscorer in France, he was not quite able to replicate his goalscoring exploits in the English League. Lacazette, however, had a blazing start to his career in England as he scored 4 goals in his first 3 home games for Arsenal.
Lacazette's goal scoring form, however, took a dip post-November as Arsenal started losing ground on the Manchester clubs. He also missed six weeks of action owing to surgery on his left knee. Lacazette's lack of form and fitness forced Wenger to sign Aubameyang from Dortmund.
Lacazette came back strong from the injury break by scoring 8 goals for his club in the last two months of the season. Some of these goals were very crucial as they helped Arsenal reach the semi-final of the Europa League.
Lacazette also had a very strong pre-season with Unai Emery preferring him over Aubameyang for the Center Forward position.
Jamie Vardy
A player who rose from non-League football to the Premier League and the English national team, Vardy is a goal scorer known for his work-rate and relentless running. He is one of the fittest players in the league.
Vardy will be turning 32 in January but age has not slowed him down and he still has enough in his locker to challenge the big names this season. A former 'Premier League Player of the Season' and an indispensable member of the current Leicester City side, Vardy scored 23 goals for his club in all competitions last term. He finished as the fourth top scorer (20 goals) in the Premier League, ahead of some big name strikers like Lukaku and Firmino.
Sadio Mané
The Senegalese international has scored 33 times for Liverpool in 73 appearances since joining them in June 2016. He might not get the same recognition as his more accomplished strike partners Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino, but he still very much remains an integral part of Jürgen Klopp’s team. Mane, who started out as a winger, has now taken up additional responsibility of setting up Liverpool’s attacking play from more central positions since the departure of Coutinho.
Mane, with his searing pace and unrelenting work ethic, is mostly responsible for orchestrating counter attacks at Liverpool. He had a very productive season last time around, scoring 20 goals including a hat-trick in the Champions League and a goal against Real Madrid in the final. Mane has proven time and again that he possesses deadly finishing ability and this time around he looks all set to come out of the shadows to propel Liverpool to even greater success.
Álvaro Morata
After a lengthy transfer saga, Alvaro Morata finally chose to sign for Antonio Conte's Chelsea over rivals Manchester United for a fee which was reported to be around £60 million from Juventus before the start of the 2017-18 season. He had a blazing start to his career in England, scoring 10 goals including a hat-trick against Stoke City between the season opener and Boxing Day. However, Morata had a terrible second half as he scored only three times post Christmas, largely due to a recurring back injury and a subsequent loss of form.
Morata also did not have the best of pre-seasons. An underwhelming performance against Arsenal where he missed a number of chances was followed by a toothless performance in Chelsea's Community Shield defeat to Manchester City. Owing to his lack of form and nagging back injury fans do not expect Morata to set the Premier League on fire this time around.
However, he has proven himself at some of the top clubs in Europe and if he can regain his confidence and goal scoring touch, there aren't many defenders in England that can stop him.
