Can Teemu Pukki Win EPL Golden Boot?

The Premier League is barely five rounds in, but that does not stop us from wondering and guessing which striker will prove to be the most potent out of all and win the prestigious Golden Boot. Last season’s Golden Boot was split three ways by Mane, Salah and Aubameyang, who all scored 22 goals, which was also the lowest total to secure the award since Tevez and Berbatov shared the honour with 20 goals each in 2010/11.

Teemu Pukki of Norwich City celebrate
NORWICH, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 14: Teemu Pukki of Norwich City during the Premier League match between Norwich City and Manchester City at Carrow Road on September 14, 2019 in Norwich, United Kingdom. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

What does the 2019/20 season regarding Golden Boot have in store, however, is something we can only guess, yet there are a few players that stand out from the rest as favourites to claim the title of the top EPL goal scorer of 2019/20 season. Before the season took off, the favourites were the usual suspects Aubameyang, Salah, Aguero and Kane, which should not come off as a surprise to anyone, considering no one else but they won the Golden Boot reward since 2013/14 when Suarez scored 31 to finish 10 goals ahead of Sturridge. Even now, as we are approaching the sixth round of EPL, the favourites remain mostly the same, yet there are a couple of underdogs, who impressed with their goal scoring ability and are now seriously considered as potential Golden Boot winners. One of those players is no other than Norwich star striker Teemu Pukki, who has made a name for himself with six goals in five Premier League matches.

Teemu Pukki proved to the world he can compete with the best, by scoring a goal in each of the five EPL fixtures he played in and even managed to achieve a hat-trick in the match against Newcastle in round two of EPL. Finnish striker helped his team with a goal and assist last weekend when Norwich beat Manchester City 3-2 and showed that he can hit the net even against the best team in Premier League. His incredible performances were soon noticed by bookmakers, who slashed his odds on being named as the Premier League Golden Boot winner from 100/1 to 25/1 and even as low as 12/1. As it stands now, Pukki is second in the goalscoring standings with six goals to his name, only trailing Sergio Agüero and Tammy Abraham, who both scored seven times so far.

However, there are some arguments to be made Pukki will not be able to compete with the best strikers in the EPL in the long run. The biggest concern being how will Norwich fare in the Premier League. The Canaries are a newly promoted side, who is expected to struggle to keep up with the top sides in England. But, it’s worth noting Norwich are known for their aggressive playstyle which, while it may result in them conceding lots of goals, also means Norwich will get to score plenty. And that works perfectly for Pukki and his Golden Boot ambitions. That being said, there is a tough road ahead of Pukki, if he wishes to claim the award for the top goalscorer.

In the end, it’s should not come off as a surprise to anyone if Pukki finishes the season with 20+ goals, but he will need to put up remarkable performances to finish above Aguero, Aubameyang, Salah and other world-class strikers.

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