Unlikely Premier League striker can beat Erling Haaland to the Golden Boot

Igor Thiago will be the man to end Erling Haaland’s stranglehold on the Premier League Golden Boot this season.

That is the view of talkSPORT pundit Tony Cascarino, who has backed Brentford‘s No.9 to pick up where he left off last term and top the league’s goalscoring charts ahead of Haaland.

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Thiago was one of the surprise packages of the 2025/26 campaign, as he fired in 22 goals after an injury-hit debut season in England.

This saw the Brazilian nominated for the Premier League Player of the Season award, with his exploits seeing him named in Brazil’s World Cup squad in North America this summer.

But his impressive goal haul was only enough for him rank second in the league’s goalscoring charts, with a familiar face at the top.

For the third time in four years, Manchester City goal machine Haaland clinched the Golden Boot award after a 27-goal campaign.

Only Mohamed Salah prevented the Norwegian from making it four from four when he top scored with 29 goals in Liverpool’s 2024/25 title-winning season.

And after Haaland cemented his status as one of the world’s very best at the World Cup, he is rightly the favourite to retain his goalscoring crown.

Can anyone beat Haaland?

While many speculate over how many goals will win Haaland the Golden Boot, Cascarino has instead named Thiago as an outside bet.

On talkSPORT’s Weekend Sports Breakfast, the former Premier League striker was asked if anyone other than the Man City talisman could top the goalscoring charts.

To this, Cascarino replied: “Thiago – he was close [last year]. I’d go for the outsider.

“It’s hard to ignore Haaland. So if I’m talking realistically, if you want to have a bit of a flutter and second [guess] the guy that may beat him, it’d be Thiago.

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“If he stays fit, he’s going to get a lot of goals, Erling Haaland.”

Best of the rest?

Despite a stellar 2025/26 campaign, Thiago faces question marks over whether he will be able to replicate his form this year, with talkSPORT’s Gabby Agbonlahor suggesting he may be a ‘one-season wonder’.

But Cascarino backed him to challenge Haaland ahead of two more-fancied stars in Chelsea‘s Joao Pedro and Liverpool’s British record signing Alexander Isak.

After his £60million move from Brighton last summer, Pedro notched an impressive 15 league goals in his debut season at Stamford Bridge.

Meanwhile Isak has a point to prove – starting with a hostile reunion with old club Newcastle – after struggling to justify his huge price tag by scoring just three times in a season largely written off by a broken leg suffered in November.

After co-host Katie Shanahan suggested Isak and Pedro as potential candidates, Cascarino replied: “Not so sure with Isak.

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“He has injuries every season. He always has. He’s not a durable player. He’s a very good and exciting one, but he’s not durable.”

Haaland in the Premier League: Season by season

Beating Haaland to the Golden Boot will certainly take some doing.

Since his arrival at the Etihad Stadium in 2022, the Norwegian has smashed the 20-goal mark in all four of his Premier League seasons.

This includes breaking the record for the most goals scored in a single Premier League season in his debut campaign, when he fired in 36 in 2022/23.

He followed this up with another Golden Boot-winning 27-goal haul the following year, before his 22 goals in the 2024/25 season were bettered by Mohamed Salah.

But after his tally of 27 saw him win back top prize last season, Haaland’s rivals may sense a potential chink in the armour this year.

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With Man City possibly going through a period of transition as Enzo Maresca replaces the legendary Pep Guardiola in the dugout, the towering striker may not receive the same service as in past years.