Robin Van Persie is out, but Erling Haaland could already be the best Premier League striker of all time ahead of Alan Shearer and Harry Kane

The Premier League has been home to countless iconic strikers, from legends of the game to cult heroes and one-season wonders.

It is an extremely difficult task to narrow down the list of the best strikers of the Premier League era.

But as is often the case with lists focused on a hotly debated topic, some big names will inevitably be omitted.

That's exactly what happened when former Premier League striker Darren Bent revealed his list of the best strikers to have ever played in the top flight.

Bent knows what he is talking about when it comes to goals, having scored 106 in the Premier League during spells at Ipswich Town, Charlton, Tottenham, Sunderland, Aston Villa and Fulham.

He revealed his picks for his top ten Premier League strikers when asked what they think Jamie Vardy He was worthy of a place on the top ten list of scorers.

After all, the Leicester man is 37 and still scoring, setting a record by netting in 11 consecutive games as Leicester won an improbable title in 2016 and winning the Premier League Player of the Season award.

However, as good as he is, Vardy is not among those chosen. Making a list of the best in history is harder than you might think.

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry ranked first on Bent's list, but failed to rank among the other nine which consisted of Alan Shearer, Harry Kane, Wayne Rooney, Sergio Aguero, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ian Wright, Andy Cole, Luis Suarez and Didier Drogba.

Drogba's inclusion may have surprised some, given the Chelsea The hero finished with 12 or fewer Premier League goals in seven of his nine top-flight seasons.

However, Bent, who faced Drogba several times in his career, believed the Chelsea great was more than worthy of a place on his list.

“I played against Drogba at his best,” Bent told talkSPORT Drive.

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“I think a lot of times people look at their numbers and say, 'How can he be up there?'

“But he was strong, powerful, he could score goals. He was the centre-forward when Chelsea were having all the success. He was one of the main players in that team.”

Bent, a passionate Arsenal fan, then addressed the absence of From Persiewho scored 144 goals in 280 Premier League appearances.

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“I know there are people I've left out, like Van Persie,” Bent said.

“Maybe it's a bit personal because of the way he left Arsenal.”

Bent also explained why he left him out. Michael Owenwho was the last English player to win the Ballon d'Or.

“With Owen, when he first came on the scene, I had never seen anything like it, apart from Rooney,” he explained.

“I thought, ‘Oh my God, oh my God.’ Michael Owen was amazing, but I remember the hamstring injuries.”

Darren Bent's top ten Premier League strikers

Thierry Henry – 175 goals (Arsenal)

Alan Shearer – 260 goals (Blackburn and Newcastle)

Harry Kane – 213 goals (Tottenham and Norwich City)

Wayne Rooney – 208 goals (Everton and Manchester United)

Sergio Aguero – 184 goals (Manchester City)

Ruud van Nistelrooy – 95 goals (Man United)

Ian Wright – 113 goals (Arsenal and West Ham)

Andy Cole – 187 goals (Newcastle, Manchester United, Blackburn, Fulham, Manchester City, Portsmouth and Sunderland)

Luis Suarez – 69 goals (Liverpool)

Didier Drogba – 104 goals (Chelsea)

Bent acknowledged Owen had won the Ballon d'Or but still feels Henry deserved his place on the list considering he is often labelled the greatest Premier League player of all time. player.

Erling Haaland

However, Bent may be forced to revise his list at the end of the season if a certain Norwegian maintains his terrifying goalscoring record.

Manchester City Erling Haaland He secured his second treble of the 2024/25 Premier League season when his side beat West Ham last weekend.

Haaland's three goals took his league goals total to 70 in 69 games, but that's not the only statistic that emphasises how absurdly good he is.

The 24-year-old has the best goals-per-minute average in Premier League history with a goal every 80 minutes.

For comparison, City legend Sergio Aguero is second with an average of one goal every 108 minutes.

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Haaland has also scored just six fewer goals than Everton have scored since moving to City in 2022.

Given that Haaland is only in his third season at the Etihad Stadium, it may be a little premature to make any pronouncements about whether he will be the greatest Premier League striker of all time.

But for former Newcastle and Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew, Haaland is certainly in the conversation.

“If you're going to tell me he's better than Ian Rush, he's better than Kenny Dalglish, Alan Shearer, Gary Lineker, of course you've got to look at him and say, 'Well, he's definitely in the conversation',” Pardew told talkSPORT.

“I mean it's too early to say if he's going to be the greatest of all time. We're talking about a top player, but he's in the conversation.

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“He's on his way to really breaking some records.”

If Haaland maintains his impressive minutes-per-goal average, he will need around 169 games to equal Shearer's record of 260 Premier League goals.

Even if he doesn't surpass Shearer's tally, Haaland is on course to cement himself in the conversation of the Premier League's best strikers.

For Bent, that means he'll have to review his list once again.

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