As far as the Premier League goes, it’s fair to say it’s always had some of the world’s most talented and memorable players ever grace the game of soccer since its inception in 1992.
Now, the most important thing in soccer, well in my opinion anyway, is to score goals so what’s better than looking into the most prolific all-time top 20 goal scorers to play in the Premier League? If you say clean sheets then I’m afraid you are now officially as boring as James Milner, sorry.
So let’s get to it and take a look at the 20 most deadly Premier League goalscorers of all time!
#20 - Dion Dublin
Dion Dublin was, by all means, an underrated player when you think of the Premier League’s best scorers but let me assure you his ability to find the net was nothing short of deadly.
His best season included a season total of 18 goals for Coventry City F.C. whilst achieving the Golden Boot for the 97/98 season in the process.
He also enjoyed successful stints at the likes of Manchester Utd and Aston Villa where he was ‘dubbed’ a fan favourite.
#19 - Romelu Lukaku (Tied)
When Lukaku’s name is mentioned most people think of the big, weighty yet clumsy Man Utd forward that couldn’t bring down a ball if he had glue on his boot.
However, this is a serious goal scorer who has been a Premier League hitman since the age of 18 during loan spells from Chelsea with West Bromwich Albion and Everton.
He is currently on 113 Premier League goals and is also the Belgian national teams all-time top scorer with 52 goals. Oh, and he’s only 27.
#19 - Ian Wright (Tied)
Ian Wright has always been a brilliant personality both on and off the field which is why his career as one of the Premier League’s best scorers and a TV pundit has given him a much-loved reputation by all.
He enjoyed a successful career at the likes of Crystal Palace, Arsenal and West Ham and scored an impressive 113 Premier League goals even though he only started professional soccer at the age of 21.
#18 - Steven Gerrard
Debatably one of the best players in Premier League history and his name goes by Steven Gerrard. If you’ve never heard of this Merseyside legend then please come from under that rock you’ve been living under all these years.
Gerrard was known for his thunderous strikes and aggressive style of play both offensively and defensively, a midfield maverick if you will.
His commitment to Liverpool throughout the majority of his career earned him club legend status along with scoring an astonishing 120 Premier League goals from central midfield. A true all-time great.
#17 - Dwight Yorke
Before the times of being used as a defensive midfield substitute for Sunderland, Dwight Yorke was known as one of the most clinical goal scorers in the Premier League and rightfully one of the most successful Trinidad and Tobago internationals to ever play the game.
During earlier spells in the Premier League with the likes of Aston Villa and Manchester United, where he made a name for himself, he was known for his ability to find the net and even won the Golden Boot (18 goals), Player of the Season, FA Cup, and Champions League all in his first season with the Red Devils!
However, perhaps his only questionable move was meeting Katie Price but that’s a story for another time.
#16 - Nicolas Anelka
Nicolas Anelka, for me, was a very underrated striker and in my opinion, should be mentioned amongst some of the best strikers in the Premier League during his prime.
The Frenchman saw a host of different clubs and eventually accumulated a total cost in transfers of just under £90 million, which at the time was an extortionate figure in soccer!
His most memorable moments in the game was playing for the likes of PSG, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Real Madrid. Additionally, he was the first person to ever score a hat-trick in the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League too!
#15 - Robbie Keane
Before taking on the role of assistant manager of Middlesbrough, Robbie Keane enjoyed a very successful career that started from the age of 17 with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Not only this but he played for the likes of Inter Milan, Leeds, Liverpool, Aston Villa, and Tottenham where he earned most of his Premier League goals.
Keane also earned himself the all-time top scorer of the Republic of Ireland with 68 goals over the span of 18 years. An Irish legend in his own right.
#14 - Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
Amongst the Premier League’s best scorers is a powerhouse Dutchman by the name of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. Hasselbaink was known for his thunderbolt strikes and his overall power as a sublime forward.
He had spells at the likes of Leeds, Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and Middlesborough along with many more and was no stranger to seeing his rocket-fueled shots stun the back of the net as he tallied a notable 127 goals during his time in the Premier League.
#13 - Robin Van Persie
The Dutch have always had an incredible track record of producing high-quality players and Robin Van Persie is no exception. Known for his flair and natural instinct it’s no surprise that he is just short of the top 10 Premier League scorers of all time.
Van Persie played for the likes of Feyenoord, Arsenal, Manchester United, and Fenerbahce where he was notorious for scoring some of the best goals ever seen.
In addition to this, he also won the Golden Boot for Arsenal and Man Utd in consecutive seasons along with being the all-time top scorer for the Netherlands national team with 50 goals.
#12 - Teddy Sheringham
Sheringham was a fantastic overall forward with an exceptional ability to read the game from all areas of the pitch.
He was versatile in a sense of being able to play as a striker and a supporting forward where he was renowned for both creating and assisting goals regardless of where he was playing.
During his heyday, he was certainly a goal-scoring threat who achieved success at the likes of Manchester United where he won countless Premier League honours including being a part of the treble-winning team under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson back in the season of 1998-1999.
#11 - Les Ferdinand
In my opinion, Les Ferdinand doesn’t get the respect he deserves as he is undoubtedly one of the greatest all-time top scorers the Premier League has ever seen.
Over the course of his 14 season tenure, he tallied a magnificent 149 goals with teams such as QPR, Newcastle and Tottenham and was known for his attacking desire that led him to find the net on a regular basis.
He also scored the Premier League’s 10,000th goal which was against Fulham back in 2001 which could be considered as a ‘tip of the hat’ achievement for what certainly was a great career.
#10 - Michael Owen
A ferocious talent in his prime, Michael Owen was at times regarded as England’s saviour because of his ruthlessness in front of goal and his ability to apply relentless pressure on rival defences.
Although his career didn’t reach the heights that could have been due to consistent injury woes, he still enjoyed successful Premier League spells with the likes of Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle and Man Utd.
On top of this, he achieved a number of personal honours that included Golden Boots (97/98 and 98/99), Premier League Player of the Year (97/98), PFA Young Player of the Year (97/98) and even a Ballon d’Or (2001).
If only he stayed injury-free, who knows what else he would have achieved?
#9 - Jermain Defoe
Now here is a player of terrific quality who doesn’t get mentioned anywhere near enough when the topic of the Premier League’s best scorers is of conversation.
I mean just looking at the calibre of players who have made this top 20 list and the fact that Defoe is placed in 8th just shows how clinical he was throughout his entire career.
He accumulated 162 goals during his time in the Premier League and also set an unbelievable record in the process in one game in particular for Tottenham when faced against Wigan Athletic.
He holds the record being the joint top player to score five goals in one game and the only Premier League player to score five in one half which is simply staggering! Put some respect on his name!
#8 - Robbie Fowler
Fowler made his Premier League debut at age 18 and from that point onwards a Merseyside legend was born and the path of becoming a top 10 Premier League all-time goal scorer had just begun.
Making the list in 7th place, Robbie Fowler enjoyed copious amounts of success from scoring the majority of his goals with Liverpool.
He was famous for being a natural born goal scorer who had an intuitive goal-scoring capacity and was a nightmare to contain from a defensive standpoint.
His best Premier League season totalled a casual 28 goals which helped earn him the 95/96 PFA Young Player of the Year.
#7 - Thierry Henry
This one may be slightly biased as he is my all-time soccer hero and this I will not apologise for.
Thierry Henry, aka God, was one of those talents that will be remembered by everybody because to put it plainly, it’s hard to draw a comparison when looking back on the sheer ability this man had.
Playing the majority of his career at Arsenal, he made his mark as debatably the best Premier League player of all-time and scoring 175 goals in the process.
His aptness to run so fluidly at unseen speeds whilst maintaining strength, ball control and intricate finishing was nothing short of absurd which is why he was so loved by fans worldwide. He also managed to secure the Golden Boot consecutively from 2001-2006. Beast.
He is the best. If you think otherwise please refrain from telling me as I will ignore you for all eternity. Thank you.
#6 - Frank Lampard
One thing I remember about Frank Lampard was when he was sitting alongside Harry Redknapp for a Q&A at the start of his career for West Ham.
A fan, who I hope has nothing to do with soccer anymore, once said Lamps wasn’t good enough to play for the side and to his defense Redknapp replied, “He will go to the very top” and to the very top he went.
As a central midfielder, Lampard went on to become Chelsea’s all-time top goalscorer and cemented himself at 5th place in the all-time Premier League top scorers list.
Along with this, he achieved numerous honours that saw him win three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups, two Community Shields, one Europa League and one Champions League trophy. An astounding career to say the least.
#5 - Sergio Agüero
For those of you who have seen Agüero play it will be no surprise that the Argentinian hitman has comfortably made the top 5 Premier League all-time scorers list.
Since his signing from Atletico Madrid to Manchester City in 2011, he has accumulated 184 Premier League goals which equate to an average of 20 goals consecutively every season since debuting in the Premier League.
An unbelievable statistic to say the very least but who other than Agüero to accomplish such a great feat.
#4 - Andrew Cole
Andy Cole is somebody who often gets overlooked by the new generation of soccer fans when discussing the Premier League’s all-time top scorers as the majority of his goal-scoring stardom happened in the period of the ’90s.
He was a player that had phenomenal movement and was resilient in his overall game which helped him to score a surprising 187 goals that spanned over a 20-year professional career.
Most who remember him will recall his unstoppable partnership with Dwight Yorke during their reign at Manchester United, especially during their treble-winning days where they were both major catalysts in their triumphant 98/99 season.
#13 - Harry Kane
Now, to be 3rd on a list of the Premier League’s all-time top scorers list whilst still playing and only at the age of 29 is simply outrageous.
Harry Kane has been a goal-scoring magnet ever since being introduced to the League with Tottenham Hotspur.
Having the Golden Boot two years on the trot in the 15/16 and 16/17 Premier League seasons he also won the Golden Boot back in the 2018 World Cup for England too.
However, the irony of all this is that Arsenal once rejected a young Harry Kane for being too overweight. Oh, what could have been.
#2 - Wayne Rooney
From that wonder goal at 16 years old against Arsenal, all the way to his record-breaking goals that helped surpass Sir Bobby Robson for both Manchester Utd and England just tells you how much of an astonishing career this man had with 208 Premier League goals.
Right from his first goal, you could tell he was special. He had an ability that overshadowed seasoned Premier League players who had competed in the league for years on end and he maintained his artistry throughout the length of his career scoring wonder goals that will stay in the history books forever.
In my honest opinion, he is one of the best players England have and will ever produce.
#1 - Alan Shearer
Finally, we’ve arrived at first place on the top 20 list. There have been some unbelievable entries in this leaderboard but there is one man who trounces every single player and he goes by the Geordie Premier League powerhouse known as Alan Shearer.
Shearer, somehow, managed to amass an unmatched tally of 260 goals to earn himself a top spot on the Premier League’s all-time top scorers list.
Although his game didn’t ooze silky skills or blistering pace, his old fashioned bruteness helped him score goals and be feared as a dominant presence by all.
He holds records such as the person to score the most goals in a single season with 34 goals (tied with Andy Cole), most goals scored in a single game with 5 goals (tied with 5 others), most goals scored within the 18-yard box with 227 and most penalties scored with 56 goals.
He was a Tyneside legend in every sense of the word for his hometown club Newcastle where he is worshipped by many as a God.
