In terms of out-and-our strikers, it could be argued that the Premier League is much weaker now than it was, say, 20 years ago.England’s top division used to be packed full of top class centre-forwards, including the likes of Alan Shearer, Andy Cole, Ian Wright, Dwight Yorke, Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen, Thierry Henry, Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink, Les Ferdinand… the list goes on and on.But how many genuinely top strikers are currently plying their trade in the Premier League?Well, one Twitter account - @NOT_MOTD - have ranked the Premier League’s current strikers into five different categories: ‘Elite’, ‘Great’, ‘Good’, ‘Average’ and ‘Poor’.This is entirely subjective, of course. But as you can probably imagine, it’s sparked plenty of debate on social media.
- World XI: Biggest market value winners in 2019-20
- How Lukaku lost half a stone in 12 days at Inter
- 17 players Fergie was completely wrong about
Let’s take a closer look…
Elite
Harry Kane
Sergio Aguero
So, according to this, there are only two elite strikers in the Premier League right now and that’s Harry Kane and Sergio Aguero.
Both are obviously elite strikers, there’s no doubt about that.
Great
Roberto Firmino
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Jamie Vardy
These three are different types of strikers but they’re all quality.
Roberto Firmino is a brilliant team player, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is a superb finisher inside the penalty area, while Jamie Vardy is brilliant playing off the shoulder of the last defender or on the counter-attack.
Good
Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Gabriel Jesus
Danny Ings
Raul Jimenez
Marcus Rashford
Troy Deeney
Marcus Rashford, Danny Ings, Raul Jimenez and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are all enjoying excellent seasons, so a place in the ‘Good’ category is the least they deserve.
Gabriel Jesus is a little inconsistent, but undoubtedly a huge talent and still only 22 years old.
Troy Deeney can consider himself rather fortunate to be in this category, especially when you see some of the strikers who have been labelled ‘Average’.
Average
Ashley Barnes
Callum Wilson
Alexandre Lacazette
Chris Wood
Jordan Ayew
Tammy Abraham
Callum Wilson and Alexandre Lacazette aren’t having their best seasons, so you can understand why they’ve been placed in this category - although on their day they’re much better than average.
But it feels harsh on Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham, who has scored 13 Premier League goals this season.
In terms of Premier League standards, Ashley Barnes, Chris Wood and Jordan Ayew are probably average, in fairness.
Poor
Wesley Moraes
Oli McBurnie
Joelinton
Sebastien Haller
Neal Maupay
Teemu Pukki
Teemu Pukki has scored 11 goals and provided three assists in the Premier League with Norwich City this season, so calling him ‘poor’ feels a bit wrong.
Brighton’s Neal Maupay, meanwhile, has seven goals and two assists to his name this term.
Wesley Moraes, Joelinton, Oli McBurnie and Sebastien Haller, on the other hand, have all experienced difficult debut seasons in England’s top flight.
Here’s the list in full…
Now let’s check out some of the reaction from fans…