The 2026/27 Premier League season is rapidly approaching, and it’s time to take a page out of ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky’s book with NFL quarterbacks by ranking the top 10 strikers in the league in five different major traits.
Finishing
- Erling Haaland, Manchester City
- Alexander Isak, Liverpool
- Eli Junior Kroupi, Bournemouth
- Igor Thiago, Brentford
- Benjamin Sesko, Manchester United
- Hugo Ekitike, Liverpool
- Jean-Philippe Mateta, Crystal Palace
- Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa
- Joao Pedro, Chelsea
- Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Leeds
Erling Haaland stands in a tier of his own, but let’s not forget that before Alexander Isak’s move to Liverpool and the injuries that ensued, some people wer wondering if he could be the best striker in the Premier League
Meanwhile, Eli Junior Kroupi is the next big thing, and you can see why clubs as big as PSG and Barcelona are dreaming of him. Benjamin Sesko and Hugo Ekitike are also rising stars.
As for the rest, Ollie Watkins and Joao Pedro may feel hard done by to be behind Jean-Philippe Mateta, but not only do their strengths lie in the other skills besides finishing, but also Mateta is a crazy good technician, to the point where even the big stars on the French national team were blown away by what he was doing in training.
Dribbling
- Hugo Ekitike, Liverpool
- Joao Pedro, Chelsea
- Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa
- Erling Haaland, Manchester City
- Evanilson, Bournemouth
- Richarlison, Tottenham Hotspur
- Jean-Philippe Mateta, Crystal Palace
- Danny Welbeck, Chelsea
- Benjamin Sesko, Manchester United
- Igor Thiago, Brentford
What stands out about the strikers in the Premier League is that very few of them are actually great dribblers. After the top eight, we’re reaching for straws, and there’s a huge drop off between the top three and the rest of them.
But those guys in the top three are insanely good with the ball at their feet. Hugo Ekitike, in particular, was a menace last season, which meant even more for Liverpool because of how poor Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, Alexander Isak, and even Florian Wirtz were at taking defenders on and beating them.
Heading
- Benjamin Sesko, Manchester United
- Erling Haaland, Manchester City
- Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Leeds
- Raul Jimenez, Fulham
- Thierno Barry, Everton
- Beto, Everton
- Zian Flemming, Burnley
- Brian Brobbey, Sunderland
- Igor Thiago, Brentford
- Richarlison, Tottenham Hotspur
Erling Haaland doesn’t actually win as many headers as the rest on the list in terms of volume, but he has the most in terms of quality headers as a great goal scorer in the box aerially.
But the best header of the football at the striker position in the Premier League is Benjamin Sesko. He is a natural talent in the air and almost gravitates towards these sort of chances, gracefully hanging in there before firing home.
Everton certainly have a brand of striker they like, and while neither Beto nor Thierno Barry were particularly effective at the 9 last season, they certainly did win their fair share of aerial battles.
Work Rate
- Richarlison, Tottenham Hotspur
- Danny Welbeck, Chelsea
- Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa
- Joao Pedro, Chelsea
- Erling Haaland, Manchester City
- Raul Jimenez, Fulham
- Igor Thiago, Brentford
- Nick Woltemade, Newcastle
- Zian Flemming, Burnley
- Igor Jesus, Nottingham Forest
Say what you want about Richarlison, but the Brazilian forward is one of the hardest working strikers in world football and honestly defends at a higher level than a quarter of the midfielders in the Premier League.
Chelsea are finding a prototype they want at the 9, with Danny Welbeck backing up Joao Pedro now and providing almost a lite version of the all around skill set Pedro does, except he’s even more active at winning possession.
Erling Haaland doesn’t do a whole lot of tracking back, but in terms of movement on the counter and stepping up to defend in the biggest games, you will literally only find a handful at least on par with him.
Passing
- Hugo Ekitike, Liverpool
- Joao Pedro, Chelsea
- Danny Welbeck, Chelsea
- Evanilson, Bournemouth
- Erling Haaland, Manchester City
- Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa
- Raul Jimenez, Fulham
- Nick Woltemade, Newcastle
- Richarlison, Tottenham Hotspur
- Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Leeds
Hugo Ektike was simply on a different level from the rest of the Premier League strikers in just his first season in England when it comes to his all around impact, and you can only imagine 1) how bad Liverpool would have been last season without him and 2) how good he can be in 2026/27 if the other forwards step up.
Joao Pedro and Danny Welbeck, again, are peas in a pod in terms of what they bring to the table besides scoring goals. Evanilson is probably the most underrated striker in the Premier League because of what he does in the phases of the game besides scoring, too.
Then there is Erling Haaland, whose goal scoring prowess overshadows how great he is at doing more with less on the ball as a creator. There are a lot of pundits n the tele who would do well to pay closer attention to what he does as a passer in the box.
