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#3 Lionel Messi | Paris Saint-Germain
Lionel Messi has been the talk of the town in recent weeks and his decision to swap Barcelona for Paris came as a shock to the footballing fraternity. In my opinion, he is the greatest player of this generation and is not up there based purely on skill - his goalscoring record is absolutely staggering!
There's a considerable drop-off in quality between Ligue 1 and La Liga, so there is an opportunity for Messi to score goals for fun. With the side PSG have now - with Neymar and Mbappe joining the Argentine in attack - they could break the record for most goals scored in a single Ligue 1 season.
When PSG get free kicks in and around the penalty area, whose responsibility will it be now? Messi's penalty record is not the greatest but he is absolutely sensational at free-kicks, so we'll have to wait and see who's the boss when it comes to set-pieces.
PSG are amongst the most popular teams in world football, but Messi going there elevates them to a different level altogether. For the first time in his professional career, he'll be in a completely different environment, so it'll be interesting to see how he copes. That being said, the best players in the game find ways to adapt and run the show regardless of where they play, so I expect him to be up there in the running for the European Golden Boot once again.
#2 Mohamed Salah | Liverpool
Mohamed Salah is a player who brings a lot of joy to fans across the world. He's been a consistent goalscorer for Liverpool since joining the club in 2017, but in my opinion, he also tends to frustrate at times. Against Norwich City in Liverpool's Premier League opener, he scored one and set up two for his teammates, but you could argue that he could've possibly had more.
I'm not saying this as a bad thing, but last season, he was the focal point of Liverpool's attack and in many ways, it proved to be detrimental. With Diogo Jota back fully fit now and Sadio Mane looking rejuvenated after a lackluster season by his standards, Salah can play without pressure and that will give him the freedom to score a lot more goals.
With Virgil van Dijk back in the team and Alisson Becker returning to full fitness, Liverpool look like a force to be reckoned with once again. If they keep things tight at the back, it'll give the attackers a lot more confidence, which will in turn allow Salah to maintain his exploits in front of goal. Even by his lofty standards, this could be his standout season at Liverpool.
#1 Erling Haaland | Borussia Dortmund
Like Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland is a developing young player who has the chance to make a massive impression this season. His goalscoring exploits need no introduction - he seemingly picked up from where he left off last season and scored two goals on the opening weekend of the Bundesliga campaign!
Borussia Dortmund lost Jadon Sancho earlier this summer, but Haaland will learn how to be a top goalscorer this season and be in the running to win the European Golden Boot. Like I said earlier with Mbappe, he's someone who scores twos and threes as opposed to scoring more frequently, but he's more than capable of adding consistency to his game that'll see him become one of the most destructive attackers in world football.
Harry Kane has been linked with a record-breaking move to Manchester City this summer and that just made me think - why aren't Pep Guardiola and co in the reckoning for Haaland? He'll cost around the same amount of money as Kane but is considerably younger than the Englishman - the potential of him having a ten-year career at the club automatically makes him more desirable.
There are some incredible attackers in world football at the moment, but at this point in time, I fancy Erling Haaland to be one of the top contenders for the European Golden Boot due to his potency in front of goal.
Also Read: Jim Beglin column - Ranking the 5 greatest managers in Premier League history
