The Race for the Premier League Golden Boot

By grvadmin

As we approach the final quarter of the Premier League season, attention is naturally focused on the goalscoring charts, as the race for the Golden Boot hots up.

Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero and Chelsea’s Diego Costa sit joint top with 17 goals each, while Harry Kane and Charlie Austin remain hot on their heels with 16 and 15 respectively.

Here’s a closer look at the front runners in contention to be crowned the Premier League’s top scorer this season.

Diego Costa (Chelsea)

The Brazilian-born Spanish international has had an outstanding debut season in England’s top flight and it’s hard to think of a striker that better suits the Premier League’s physical approach.

Coming off the back of such a prolific season with former club Atletico Madrid last campaign, it was clear Costa was ready for the challenge of leading Chelsea’s attack.

After scoring in each of Chelsea’s first 3 Premier League games, the clinical attacker then bagged a hat-trick against Swansea in the fourth game of the season. This meant Costa boasted the record number of goals for any player in their first 4 games in the Premier League.

Costa has bullied defenders all season long and thrives off close marking and individual battles. He has such a natural eye for goal and his ruthlessness in finishing has been second to none this term.

If Jose Mourinho continues to set out his side the way he has been all season, you could see the 6ft 3 handful leading the line for years to to come.

With 17 goals in just 21 league appearances for The Blues, it’s no surprise that Costa is staking his claim to be the Premier Leagues top marksman come May.

Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)

The little Argentinian has always been close to the top of the goalscoring charts since joining City in 2011 and this season has been no different. Despite missing the latter stages of 2014, Aguero has notched up an impressive 17 Premier League goals in 23 games.

He became the club’s record Premier League goalscorer in October after scoring all 4 goals in the 4-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur and has continued to score a great variation of goals throughout the campaign.

Aguero has a very different – yet equally as effective – style of play in comparison to fellow South American, Diego Costa. Standing at just 5ft 8, his low centre of gravity makes his extremely difficult to knock of the ball and he has the ability to dribble past opponents with ease.

The Argentinian has consistently been able to find pockets of space that others simply wouldn’t this season and his precise positioning along with his ferocious finishing make him a firm favourite to finish top of the goalscoring charts.

Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)

The man of the moment, Harry Kane is possibly the most talked about striker in the Premier League right now – and rightfully so. The young Englishman has played with no fear this season and not only has that gained him lots of plaudits, it’s gained him lots of goals to boot.

Kane always looks to get a shot away early and this has been a big factor in his goals tally this campaign. He is fast and comfortable with the ball at his feet for such a tall player. He has also shown this season that he can be powerful and precise in the air.

Considering the Spurs man didn’t bag his first league goal until November, it’s been quite a season for the boyhood Tottenham fan. It’s even more unimaginable to think that by January, Aguero and Costa had scored 13 and 14 goals respectively.

Kane is without a doubt the in-form striker going into the final quarter of the season and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him leapfrog both Aguero and Costa to clinch the Golden Boot and cap off an unforgettable year.

Charlie Austin (Queens Park Rangers)

It’s not unfair to say that Charlie Austin has been the sole source QPR’s goals this season. Austin currently has 15 goals to his name, with Leroy Fer the club’s second top scorer only managing a measly 4.

Many are aware of the former Hungerford Town and Poole player’s meteoric rise from semi-professional to England hopeful, but not too many could have predicted how much of an impact the striker has had on England’s top division.

Austin has scored some unbelievable strikes this season and his strength and determination, coupled with his natural eye for goal has left him in with a shout of the claiming Golden Boot.

While the aforementioned Costa, Aguero and Kane all play for a top six side, Austin has consistently scored goals for a struggling QPR side threatened by relegation into the Championship.

Should QPR go down, there’s no doubt that a host of Premier League clubs will be after his signature after proving he’s got what it takes to consistently score goals at the highest level.

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The Verdict

At the beginning of the season the majority of Premier League followers would have more than likely picked Diego Costa to pick up the Golden Boot come the end of the season. He started the campaign so well, but like Aguero has tailed off somewhat as the season comes to an end.

On the other hand, no one would have expected Charlie Austin to do as well as he has this season and perhaps even less so, Harry Kane. But as we approach the end of yet another thrilling Premier League season, I’m sticking with the form guide and backing Harry Kane to over take Costa and Aguero to become the Premier League’s top goalscorer this season.