The Premier League has played host to countless iconic strikers, from legends of the game to cult heroes and one-season wonders.
It makes for an extremely difficult task when it comes to whittling down the list for the greatest forwards of the Premier League era.
But, as is often the case with lists centred around a hotly-debated topic, some big names will inevitably be omitted.
That’s exactly what happened when former Premier League striker Darren Bent revealed his list of the greatest forwards to have played in the top flight.
Bent knows what he’s talking about when it comes to goals, having scored 106 in the Premier League across stints at Ipswich Town, Charlton, Tottenham, Sunderland, Aston Villa and Fulham.
He revealed his selections for his top ten Premier League strikers when it was put to him that Jamie Vardy was worthy of a spot in the top ten list for greatest goal-getters.
After all, the Leicester man is 37 years old and still scoring and set a record of scoring in 11 straight games when Leicester won an unlikely title in 2016 and he won the Premier League Player of the Season.
As good as he is, though, Vardy doesn’t make the cut. Making a list of the best ever is harder to do than you might think.
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry was ranked first in Bent’s list, but could not rank the other nine which consisted of Alan Shearer, Harry Kane, Wayne Rooney, Sergio Aguero, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ian Wright, Andy Cole, Luis Suarez and Didier Drogba.
The inclusion of Drogba may have raised some eyebrows given the Chelsea hero finished with 12 or less Premier League goals in seven out of his nine seasons in the top flight.
However, Bent, who came up against Drogba several times in his career, believed the Chelsea great was more than worthy of a spot in his list.
“I played against Drogba in his pomp,” Bent said on talkSPORT Drive.
5
“I think too often people look at his numbers and go, ‘How can he be up there?’
“But he was strong, powerful, could score goals. He was the centre forward when Chelsea had all the success. He was one of the main players in that team.”
Bent, a passionate Arsenal fan, then addressed the absence of Van Persie, who scored 144 goals in 280 Premier League appearances.
5
“I know there’s people that I’ve left out, like Van Persie,” Bent said.
“Maybe that’s a bit personal because of the way he left Arsenal.”
Bent also explained why he left out Michael Owen, who was the last English player to win the Ballon d’Or.
“With Owen, when he first burst onto the scene, I’ve never seen anything like it, other than Rooney,” he explained.
“I was like, ‘Oh my goodness gracious.’ Michael Owen was incredible, but I look towards the hamstring injuries.”
Darren Bent’s top ten Premier League strikers
Thierry Henry – 175 goals (Arsenal)
Alan Shearer – 260 goals (Blackburn and Newcastle)
Harry Kane – 213 goals (Tottenham and Norwich City)
Wayne Rooney – 208 goals (Everton and Man United)
Sergio Aguero – 184 goals (Man City)
Ruud van Nistelrooy – 95 goals (Man United)
Ian Wright – 113 goals (Arsenal and West Ham)
Andy Cole – 187 goals (Newcastle, Man United, Blackburn, Fulham, Man City, Portsmouth and Sunderland)
Luis Suarez – 69 goals (Liverpool)
Didier Drogba – 104 goals (Chelsea)
Bent acknowledged Owen had won the Ballon d’Or but still feels Henry deserved his spot on the list considering he if often labelled the greatest ever Premier League player.
ERLING HAALAND
However, Bent may be forced to revise his list by the end of the season if a certain Norwegian maintains his frightening goal record.
Manchester City’s Erling Haaland bagged his second hat-trick of the 2024/25 Premier League season as his side overcame West Ham last weekend.
Haaland’s three strikes took his league goal tally to 70 goals from 69 games, but that’s not the only stat that emphasises how absurdly good he is.
The 24-year-old has the best goals-per-minute average in Premier League history with a goal every 80 minutes.
To put it in comparison, City legend Sergio Aguero is second with an average of a goal every 108 minutes.
5
Additionally, Haaland has scored just six fewer goals than Everton have scored since he moved to City in 2022.
Given Haaland is only in his third season at the Etihad Stadium, it may be a little premature to make any declarations about whether he will be the greatest Premier League striker of all time.
But for former Newcastle and Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew, Haaland is undoubtedly in the conversation.
“If you’re going to say to me he is better than Ian Rush, he is better than Kenny Dalglish, Alan Shearer, Gary Lineker, of course you’ve got to look at him and go, ‘Well, he’s definitely in the conversation,'” Pardew told talkSPORT.
“I mean, it’s too early to say whether he’s going to be the best of all time. We’re talking about real top of the tree stuff, but he’s in the conversation.
5
“He’s on course to really break some records.”
Should Haaland maintain his stunning average for minutes per goal, it will take him approximately 169 games to equal Shearer’s record of 260 Premier League goals.
Even if he does not surpass Shearer’s tally, Haaland is well on his way to cementing himself in the conversation of the Premier League’s greatest strikers.
For Bent, that means he’ll have to revise his list once more.
JOIN THE DUGOUT
Have your say on all things talkSPORT by joining ‘The DUGOUT’ – our new listener panel.
We’re all about diving deep into your perspectives, and making sure talkSPORT is the absolute best it can be. Your voice matters, and we want to hear it!
Pitch your game-changing ideas, and join in with fun surveys, polls, and locker-room discussions.
Just by joining, you’ll enter a prize draw to win one of four £50 Amazon vouchers, with another prize draw entry for every survey you complete after that
To join the ‘The DUGOUT’ panel, please click here.
