What do Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, and Newcastle United have in common this season? They have all spent £60 million or more on strikers who have scored fewer Premier League goals than Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
The uncomfortable truth is that the former England forward, with nine goals to his name, has outscored Hugo Ekitike (8), Nick Woltemade (7), Joao Pedro (6), and especially £64m man Viktor Gyokeres (5).
Scroll even further down this illustrious list, and you’ll find a pair of Man United new boys, Benjamin Sesko and Matheus Cunha, on four goals apiece.
Alexander Isak, who cost north of £100m, will spend the remainder of the Premier League season recovering from a horrific ankle injury.
Leeds United snapped up DCL for less than the price of a pack of Skittles in the summer transfer window, alongside fellow free agent, Lukas Nmecha, who has fired in four goals.
Sunderland’s Brian Brobbey props up the list of new kids on the Premier League block with three goals for the Black Cats.
Brobbey escapes criticism, as three goals in 700 minutes from a player costing south of £20 amid ongoing development is acceptable.
Likewise, £30 million signing Mathys Tel escaped a scolding. Despite blending the odd moment of defence-unlocking brilliance with a tribute to ‘Bambi on Ice’, he is, after all, only a youngster.
How the Premier League top goalscorer market looks
While Dominic Calvert-Lewin is dominating that particular mini league, Erling Haaland remains the English Premier League’s top goalscorer with 20 goals.
It’s no surprise that the towering Norwegian is the FanDuel favourite for top goalscorer at -1250. Haaland is now Manchester City’s seventh-highest scorer of all time with 150 goals.
Brentford’s Igor Thiago is the only one remotely close to dethroning him with 16 goals.
Accusations that the Brazilian dines out at the penalty spot are preposterous, with few forwards doing such an efficient job of finding space within the width of the six-yard box.
Thiago is the second-favourite to score the most goals in the Premier League this season.
Antoine Semenyo has received a bump up to third favourite at +6500 following his move to Man City. The former Bournemouth man scored in both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup ties for City this past week.
Bryan Mbeumo will hope to add to his six-goal haul and shorten the +10000 price tag, but he offered next to nothing during a scoreless stint at the Africa Cup of Nations with Cameroon.
Odds on Calvert-Lewin, nestled between Semenyo with 10 goals and Hugo Ekitike with eight goals, are nowhere to be seen.
Also omitted from the list are Bruno Guimaraes, who has eight goals, potential England recall Danny Welbeck, also on eight, and Bournemouth starlet Eli Kroupi Jr, with seven goals.
It would seem that just like some of those overpriced summer transfers, reputation still matters more than goals.
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