With the UK's Premier League rapidly approaching its climax, Indiana Unibet rank the likely contenders.
There can't be many Soccer fans who are not aware of the Golden Boot, a trophy awarded each year to the top goal scorer in each seasons English Premier League. The prize has been awarded each year since the 1992/1993 season, but only really gained any real exposure following Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's collection of the Golden Boot for his tally of 23 goals scored for London super-club Chelsea in the 2000/2001 season.
Jimmy's achievement was all the more impressive when you consider that those 23 goals represented almost exactly 1/3 of Chelsea's quota for the entire season. Moreover, 20th placed Bradford City managed just 30 goals that year in total – only seven more than Hasselbaink had managed to score all by himself. Nevertheless, it was a close year for Chelsea, who only just scraped qualification for the Champions League that year.
Notable Achievements by Golden Boot Winners
The following year, Thierry Henry collected his first Golden Boot for Arsenal. Henry would go on to collect the trophy for four of the next five years, too. His most impressive performance came in the 2003/2004 season, when thirty goals saw him achieve a record that has only been surpassed on three occasions since.
In fact, Henry's has long held a grudge against Ruud van Nistelrooy for breaking what could have been a perfect run of five consecutive years were it not for a super late goal for Manchester United late in the 2002/2003, earning him 25 goals to Henry's 24. Perhaps Henry could take a little solace in the knowledge that Manchester United players have collected the Golden Boot on 13 separate occasions – more than double Arsenal's tally, and 2/3 of those boots belong to Thierry Henry. And with 106 goals scored in just four years of collecting the Golden Boot, Thierry Henry is likely to remain the holder of many records for some time to come.
Predictions for the 2020/2021 Season
Unibet Indiana currently rank both Leeds United's Harry Kane and current title holder's Liverpool's Mohamed Salah as the two most likely contenders for this seasons Golden Boot, with odds of +175 currently assigned to both players by Indiana's leading legal online sportsbook.
Whilst Liverpool currently hold an advantage over Leeds in many ways over, who are currently competing in their first Premiership in over two decades, both players stand neck and neck with two career golden boots collected via 54 total goals, meaning it could well be either players shoe to play for.
Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes could still represent a wildcard contender, with current odds of +450 placing him in a solid third place position for the team currently holding a solid second place position in the league, having only lost four games all season.
Leicester's Jamie Vardy would no doubt love to score his second boot, after collecting his first during Leicester's shock victory of the 2019/2020 season which saw the player score 23 goals. With odds of +2,500, the bookmaker clearly don't think this is Jamie's year, but that doesn't mean it won't be Leicester's, who stand just one point behind Manchester United.
The Outsiders
And the true upsets? Well, both Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Manchester City's Ilkay Gündogan are currently priced at +6,600. Either player pulling off such a stunning end to the season would require something of a miracle – plus more than one hat trick, and a great deal of luck.
Still, if you fancy really taking a chance at something extraordinary why not place $100 at +10,000 on Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins? Better yet, the bookmaker offers of +15,000 on Manchester City's Alexandre Lacazette? He probably does deserve to win his first boot someday, but 2021 is not that day.
A Brief Conclusion
There's a while to go yet until the end of the season on May 23rd 2021, and the websites are currently offering positive odds on every player listed on their books. Personally, I'd be tempted to take a chance on Kane pulling it out of the bag at the last minute, but most UK soccer fans would probably agree that Salah will be the one to collect the boot this year.
What we can all surely agree on though is that it is fantastic for US gamblers to be able to place bets on these exciting competitions 100% legally in 2021.
