Can anyone stop Erling Haaland winning the 2024-25 Premier League Golden Boot? GOAL writers make their predictions

The Manchester City marksman has finished as the top scorer in each of the past two seasons, so can anyone keep him from a three-peat?

Given the amount of sport that has dominated the summer months, you'd be forgiven for not realising that the new Premier League season is now just a few days away. And so while teams are still finessing their transfer business and making final tactical tweaks, everything is pretty much in place for the 2024-25 campaign to begin.

That means its predictions season, and here at GOAL we're no different. Over the next week our writers will be giving their takes on all the biggest issues, from the teams who are likely to be scrapping for survival to those who will be fighting for top-four finishes and the title, and everything in between.

First up, we've taken a look at the Golden Boot race, and had our say on who we believe will finish as the division's top scorer in 2024-25:

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'Cut above everyone else'
Mark Doyle: Easy: Erling Haaland. Mohamed Salah should score freely after an injury-interrupted 2023-24 campaign, while Cole Palmer, Ollie Watkins and Alexander Isak should all be in contention once again. But as Fantasy Football players will tell you, there are very few prolific strikers in the Premier League right now. Haaland is a cut above everyone else, meaning, the Manchester City ace will comfortably claim the Golden Boot for the third consecutive season. Remember, the Norwegian No.9 didn’t even perform at his best last season and he still finished five goals clear of his nearest challenger.

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'Haaland by a comfortable distance'
Amee Ruszkai: No going out on a limb here. Erling Haaland won the Golden Boot by a comfortable distance last season, despite coming in for some stick at times, and I foresee him retaining it. At the end of the day, he's a stalwart up front for the Premier League's dominant team and has a star-studded cast around him creating chances. Sometimes he looks isolated, sometimes there are questions about his wider role, yet he will still put the ball in the back of the net incredibly regularly.
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'De Bruyne staying a big boost'
Richard Martin: Ever since Erling Haaland broke through and established himself as the best centre-forward in the world, the only thing that has been able to stop him is injuries. But even last year, when he missed two months with a stress fracture in his foot, he still outscored everyone, finishing with five goals more than nearest challenger Cole Palmer to scoop his second consecutive Golden Boot. Kevin De Bruyne staying at Man City is a further boost to Haaland's quest for a hat-trick of Golden Boots as the pair have a telepathic understanding. Good luck to any other strikers trying to catch him!

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'No one will get close to Haaland'
Stephen Darwin: Frankly, you'd be mad to overlook Man City goal machine Erling Haaland. He's fit and fresh after not playing at the Euros and has won the Premier League Golden Boot two years in a row since moving to England. Throw in the fact Julian Alvarez is off to Atletico Madrid - meaning Haaland is likely going to play even more minutes in 2024-25 - and it's a no brainer. No one's even going to get close to him.
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'Salah in prime condition'
Tom Maston: Let's face it, Erling Haaland is the heavy favourite to win a third-successive Golden Boot for a reason. However, there is a world where the Norwegian misses a few games with injury, and it should be expected that more players get closer to him than last season. With that in mind, I'm going to stick my neck out and say that Mohamed Salah comes into the new campaign in prime condition after his summer off and enjoys a 25-plus goal campaign before departing Liverpool for pastures new.
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'More fun to pick the runner-up'
Matt O'Connor-Simpson: 'Oooooo, look at me! I’m Erling Haaland and I score loads of goals.' Provided he avoids serious injury, Haaland has the top goal-scorer award on retainer for as long as he’s at Manchester City. I mean, he wasn’t even that good last season and still finished five clear of his closest challenger! It’s probably more fun to predict the runner-up, which will obviously be the returning Jamie Vardy, back for one final job before he rides off into the sunset to star in his own, unwatchable reality TV show...
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'Peerless in the art of goal-scoring'
James Westwood: Erling Haaland is the only logical pick here. Man City's Norwegian terminator won his second successive Golden Boot last season despite sitting out seven games through injury, and really didn't deserve the amount of criticism that came his way. The towering 24-year-old is never going to be a world-class link-man, but he's peerless when it comes to the art of goal-scoring, and will once again have the best supporting cast in Europe providing him with service.
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'Lack of world-class contenders'
Krishan Davis: We could pretend this is a contest, but it's impossible to look beyond Erling Haaland. Even though Man City's hitman endured what was widely considered an 'off season' in 2023-24 he still scored 1,000 goals (citation needed!) and won the Golden Boot at a canter. His cause has undoubtedly been aided by the lack of world-class strikers throughout the division - especially after Harry Kane's exit. Ollie Watkins, Son Heung-min and Alexander Isak will just hope they can hold a candle to the Norwegian.
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'Complete no-brainer'
Joe Strange: Is it even a competition? Erling Haaland has 63 Premier League goals to his name in just two seasons, and with Harry Kane now plying his trade in the Bundesliga, there isn’t a striker near his level left in the division. The Manchester City man heads into the new campaign well-rested after Norway missed out on Euro 2024 and he’s looked deadly so far in pre-season, scoring five times (or six if you count his ghost goal against Barcelona) in four friendlies. If he can stay fit for the majority of the season, this is a complete no-brainer.