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#3 Romelu Lukaku | Internazionale
Much was expected of Romelu Lukaku when Manchester United made him the most expensive centre-forward in Premier League history in 2017 after completing a £75m move. However, after 42 goals and 13 assists in 96 games, the Belgian was eventually offloaded to Internazionale for £73m, where he is en route to becoming one of their best signings of the century.
Lukaku's first campaign at San Siro saw him score a total of 34 goals across 51 games in all competitions for the Nerazzurri, becoming the first Inter player to do so since the great Ronaldo Nazario in 1997/98. Lukaku has found a few more gears this year as he's smashed a whopping 26 goals in just 35 appearances along with nine assists. He has also dethroned Cristiano Ronaldo as the most valuable player in the Italian top-flight.
The towering Belgian looks fitter, sharper, and is undoubtedly in the best form of his career. He tops the charts for goals, assists, shot-creating actions, big chances created, and a host of other metrics for Inter, who are currently 11 points clear at the top of the table with Lukaku as their spearhead.
Antonio Conte famously revealed in 2020 that he 'very strongly' wanted to work with Lukaku while the Italian was at Chelsea and Juventus, and it isn't difficult to see why. The striker has arguably been the best player in all of Serie A this year and is on his way to firing Inter to their first Scudetti in over a decade.
#2 Harry Kane | Tottenham Hotspur
Harry Kane's ability to find the back of the net was never in question. In fact, over the last six years, Kane has scored 20 goals or more in four seasons, winning two Premier League Golden Boots in the process. While he has generally been more multi-faceted than most of his peers, this season, he's made a case for being the most well-rounded forward in Europe.
After falling short of the 20-goal mark for two successive campaigns, Kane has returned to his terrifying best this season. The English captain is already at 19 Premier League goals so far and, with eight games to go, he could potentially go on to win a third Golden Boot. He is just a goal away from surpassing Robbie Fowler's tally in England (163), which will make him the seventh-highest scorer in Premier League history.
However, what makes this season even more special for Kane is that he could also end up as the highest assist-provider in the division as he leads the charts with 13, two more than anyone else in England. The 27-year-old ranks in the 96th percentile in Europe for assists per 90 with 0.36 and 93rd for progressive carries, highlighting his ability to drive the ball forward and set his teammates up.
The Tottenham Hotspur legend could potentially become the first player to hit 20 league goals and assists in the same season since Thierry Henry, who achieved this feat in 2002/03 and won the PFA Player of the Year. Kane has been simply sensational this season and there is no denying that he is one of the best players in world football, let alone one of the best forwards.
#1 Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich
On 3 June 1972, Bayern Munich legend Gerd Muller created history by scoring his record 40th Bundesliga goal of the season against Eintracht. Die Adler's then-coach Erich Ribbeck was in awe of the German and famously said that he 'would trade two Beckenbauers for one Muller' as the striker etched his name into German football history.
49 years later, Bayern Munich superstar Robert Lewandowski finds himself just five goals away from breaking Der Bomber's historic record with seven games to go.
Lewandowski has never been a stranger to astounding goalscoring feats throughout his storied career. Last season, he registered his career-best figures as he scored 55 goals across all competitions, including 34 in 31 Bundesliga appearances. This season, however, the Pole has shown that despite his heroics in the past, he is still capable of outdoing himself.
In his 25 appearances so far in the Bundesliga, Lewandowski has amassed 35 goals along with six assists. Thirty-five goals. For further context on this astonishing goal return, the closest player to him in Europe is Ronaldo, who scored ten fewer than Lewandowski and played one game more.
Lewandowski has scored more than once in a match in eight league games this year, including two hat-tricks and a stunning four-goal haul. The 32-year-old's 1.02 non-penalty goals per 90 puts him in the 99th (!) percentile, along with 97th for shots per 90 (4.15) for forwards in Europe.
As far as pure number nines are concerned, not a single striker on the planet is on the same level as Robert Lewandowski at the moment. He is in a league of his own and takes the top spot on our list of centre-forwards.
Also read: 5 Greatest players to never win the Premier League title
