Manchester United are the greatest club in Premier League history and it isn't even close.
Sure, you might place Manchester City's centurions and Arsenal's 'Invincibles' above them in terms of individual seasons, but there's simply no competition when you look at the era as a whole.
Under the reign of Sir Alex Ferguson, the Red Devils collected a remarkable 13 league titles and a massive part of this came from the club having world-class forwards at their disposal.
The likes of Mark Hughes, Eric Cantona and Andrei Kanchelskis kept the United goal machine flowing in the 1990s and even more quality centre-forwards arrived after the turn of the century.
Here at GIVEMESPORT, we've already ranked every United forward since 2000 from worst to best, but goals will ultimately be the currency by which strikers are judged and not merely opinions.
- United yet to make Jadon Sancho bid
- Dan James won't leave Old Trafford this summer
- Ryan Giggs recalls when he nearly left Man United
Ranking Man Utd strikers statistically
So, we've decided to take reputations and recollections out of the equation by letting the statistics do the talking, taking the 24 strikers in question and calculating their goal-per-game ratios.
As long as they played at least 10 games for United in the 21st century, they qualify and every game of their United career is included. It is, by all accounts, the ultimate test of their lethality at the club.
You can check out the full results down below to see which of United's number nines were truly the most potent in front of goal in the famous red jersey.
(Note: We're not including Odion Ighalo because he has played fewer than 10 games for the club)
24. Alan Smith - 0.13
Goals: 12
Games: 93
Ok, ok, yes, this is a little harsh. Smith's statistics aren't all that aesthetic for the fact he eventually retreated into midfield, but his brief stint leading the line at Old Trafford means he makes the list regardless.
23. Radamel Falcao - 0.14
Goals: 4
Games: 29
The less said about Falcao's time in England generally - never mind his doomed spell in Manchester - the better and it's all the more gutting for how prolific he had been with Atletico Madrid just a few seasons prior.
22. Federico Macheda - 0.14
Goals: 5
Games: 36
Macheda will always be remembered for giving Martin Tyler a goalgasm with his last-minute winner against Aston Villa in 2009, but there's hardly anything else worth saying about his doomed United spell.
21. Diego Forlan - 0.17
Goals: 17
Games: 98
Again, Forlan is another United striker that will be remembered fondly by the fanbase, most notably for scoring a brace at Anfield and running around the Old Trafford pitch topless after a botched celebration.
He gave little to suggest he would become a future two-time European Golden Shoe winner, mind.
20. David Bellion - 0.2
Goals: 8
Games: 40
Ah, the man we ranked bottom of our list actually finishes above four more strikers than we gave him credit for, but Bellion never really showed his best at United and 20th is nothing to get too excited about.
19. Danny Welbeck - 0.2
Goals: 29
Games: 142
Is it just us that thought Welbeck would have finished higher? Many United fans thought the academy prospect was flogged too early, but perhaps this stat and his decline at Arsenal suggests Louis van Gaal was correct, after all.
18. Henrik Larsson - 0.23
Goals: 3
Games: 13
While, yes, Larsson was hardly prolific at United and the data proves it, what the Swede brought to the dressing room can't be downplayed and it makes us wish he played for the Red Devils in his prime.
17. Mason Greenwood - 0.3
Goals: 12
Games: 40
Substitute appearances mean the data comes across a little harsh on the 18-year-old, but the fact he's rubbing shoulders with club favourites at his age is credit to his talent. He'll surely rise through the ranks in the seasons to come.
16. Teddy Sheringham - 0.3
Goals: 46
Games: 153
Just five and six goals respectively during Sheringham's middle two seasons really pull him down the list and United fans only really saw him at his best during a 21-goal farewell campaign in 2000/01.
15. Anthony Martial - 0.3
Goals: 64
Games: 208
Martial is on course for his most prolific season as a United player in his new birth as a number nine and the fact he's spent four consecutive years bettering his goal total from the term before suggests the only way is up.
14. Marcus Rashford
Goals: 64
Games: 201
And Rashford is another player you can expect to climb the ranks having already made 2019/20 his most prolific season yet despite a serious back injury. 200 outings for the club at just 22 years old is commendable in itself.
13. Michael Owen - 0.33
Goals: 17
Games: 52
Yeh, we're as surprised as you are. Believe it or not, Owen did much more in front of goal for United than simply score that last-minute derby winner and 13th place amongst this company is nothing to be sniffed at.
