Most goals scored in a Premier League Season by an individual player

Since the inception of the Premier League in 1992 only eight players have achieved the feat of scoring 30 goals in a single Premier League season (38 game EPL Season since its inception in 1995/96.) The accomplishment of joining the “30 in a season club” remains the pinnacle of success for a striker.

This article lists the players with the most goals in a Premier League season.

We run through the eight players who have managed to join this elite club of players with the most goals in a Premier League season.

1. Kevin Phillips 1999/2000 – 30 Goals (Sunderland FC)

Kevin Phillips’ super season culminated in the English striker bagging 30 goals for the unfancied Black Cats ensuring a 7th place finish in the Premier League table.

Sunderland paid a mere £325,000 for the Hitchin born striker from Watford in 1997. Phillips bagged 35 goals in his first season followed by 25 in the second, culminating in a Division one Championship and promotion to the Premier League.

Few expected Phillips to be able to do the same in the Premier League however the striker proved his critics wrong by netting 30 goals, winning Premier League Player of the Season in due course.

Kevin Phillips placed his name into the history book by being the only Englishman to win the European Golden boot since its inception in 1968.

2. Thierry Henry 2003/2004 – 30 Goals (Arsenal FC)

Considered one of the best strikers to ever grace the Premier League, Henry produced a seasonal masterclass making Arsenal invincible under Arsene Wenger.

The 2003/04 season remains the peak of Arsenal FC with the North London club remaining undefeated all season within the Premier League, culminating in Arsenal winning the title by 11 points. The 03/04 title remains as the last Premier League title Arsenal lifted.

The French forward was crowned the PFA Players’ Player of the year whilst also winning the European Golden boot.

Thierry Henry remains Arsenal’s all time top goalscorer and has also won the most Premier League Golden Boots (4.)

3. Robin Van Persie 2011/2012 – 30 Goals (Arsenal)

The Dutch striker was awarded captaincy come the beginning of the season and what followed was by nothing short of magnificent. Van Persie equalled Henry’s goal tally come the end of the 11/12 season marking himself in Premier League history.

The Dutchman finished the season winning the Premier League Golden Boot and became Arsenal’s 8th all-time top goalscorer with 132 goals.

Controversially Van Persie signed with rivals Manchester United the following season for approximately £22.5m. Van Persie’s first season at Old Trafford resulted in a Premier League title and a second consecutive Golden Boot for the Dutch striker.

4. Harry Kane 2017/2018 – 30 Goals (Tottenham Hotspur)

Having won the past two Premier League Golden Boots in 2015/16 and 2016/17 many would anticipate Kane’s 30 goal season a third consecutive award. However the arrival of Mohamed Salah to Liverpool would hinder such a feat.

The Spurs talisman recorded his best Premier League goal tally to date also helping Spurs to secure a Champions League spot.

The English forward became the fourth youngest player to record 100 Premier League goals whilst also breaking Alan Shearer’s 22 year record of the most goal scored in a calendar year (39 league goals in 2017.)

5. Alan Shearer 1995/1996 – 31 Goals (Blackburn Rovers)

England international and football’s most well known Geordie became the first footballer to surpass the 30 goal tally with the introduction of the 38 game season (as opposed to 42 beforehand.) The new rules coming into play in the 1995/96 season, Shearer instantly breaking the 30 goal tally within the first season of its inception.

The English striker won three consecutive golden boots from 95-97, Shearer remaining the all time leading goal scorer in the Premier League with 260 goals.

Shearer helped lead Blackburn Rovers to their only Premier League title in the 1994/95 season, Shearer scoring 34 goals albeit during the former 42 match season.

6. Christiano Ronaldo 2007/2008 – 31 Goals (Manchester United)

Alongside Lionel Messi, Ronaldo is to be seen as the one of the greatest footballers to ever grace the pitch. Ronaldo swapped Lisbon for Manchester in 2003 for £12.24m making him the most expensive teenager in English football history.

Ronaldo arrived at Old Trafford as a young spotty teenager however under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson Ronaldo would go onto become one of the best footballers on the planet.

The 2007/08 season saw Ronaldo solidify himself as one of football’s greatest, a season which saw the Portuguese forward win the European Golden Boot with 31 Premier League goals as well as helping Manchester United to claim a Premier League and Champions League title.

Ronaldo went onto win the European Golden beat three more times with La Liga giants Real Madrid.

7. Luis Suarez 2013/2014 – 31 Goals (Liverpool)

Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez arrived at Anfield midway through the 2010/11 season from Ajax for €26.5m. From then onwards Suarez remained a top class striker for the Reds, culminating in a world class season in 2013/14 which nearly inspired Liverpool to their first Premier League title.

The 2013/14 season saw Luis Suarez win the Premier League Golden Boot as well as winning the PFA Player of the Year award, becoming the first non European player to do so.

Unfortunately Suarez proved controversial on and off the pitch, famously being known for biting his opponents on three different occasions. July 2014 would see Suarez leave Liverpool for Barcelona for a reported €82.3m fee.

8. Mohamed Salah 2017/2018 – 32 Goals (Liverpool)

Mohamed Salah became the most recent player to surpass the 30 goal benchmark and in doing so broke the record for the most goals scored in a single Premier League season with 32 goals (38 match EPL season.)

Since arriving at Anfield from Roma for £38m in the summer of 2017 the Egyptian maestro has far surpassed expectations of even the most optimistic Reds fan, scoring a record breaking 32 goals in his first Premier League season at Liverpool as well as helping Liverpool to reach the Champions League Final in Cardiff.

The 2017/18 season saw Salah win the Premier League Golden Boot with the Egyptian being joint top goalscorer the following season with 22 Premier League goals.

The Egyptian won the Champions League Final in 2019 with a 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur and is now on track to help see Liverpool win their first Premier League title.

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