The striker or the center-forward position hasn’t changed much in the 30 years that the Premier League has been around. Alan Shearer and other greats from the past would still be useful today, and many types of strikers can fit a team’s needs.
One example is targeting men (or women) who are powerful and confident in the air (e.g., Didier Drogba). They might be fast enough to run behind the other team’s defense, or they might be able to keep the ball and let others join the attack.
There are also relatively small strikers like Sergio Agüero who use tricks and movement to fool defenders and deep-lying forwards who use their technical skills more creatively (e.g., Dennis Bergkamp). In the end, many strikers like Harry Kane combine these skills because there are many ways to score a goal and many ways for teams to be weak in other places.
Luis Suárez
- Premier League teams: Liverpool (2011-2014)
- Appears: 110
- Goals: 69 (0.63)
- Assist: 23 (0.21)
- Total goal-scoring rate: 0.84
Luis Suárez came to the Premier League in 2011 with his controversial behavior, which made him the most disliked player in football. He left the league in less than four years. If he had stayed longer, his goal-scoring rate, which was the same as Agüero’s, might have helped him leave a bigger mark and move up this list.
Suárez only won the League Cup with Liverpool, but he went on to win more than a dozen trophies with Barcelona. He was the Prestigious League’s Player of the Year in 2014 when he scored 31 goals and won the Golden Boot. He was called to the PFA section of the year twice. He has also played for Paraguay and won the Copa América in 2011.
Suárez is known as a striker who is both skilled and tough. With his quick feet, dribbling, passing range, and movement, he can get around defenders and finish with either foot when he gets to the goal. He is also a good passer with the vision and works ethic to make a big difference in team play.
Wayne Rooney
- Premier League teams: Everton (2002-2004, 2017-2018), Manchester United (2004-2017)
- Appears: 491
- Goals: 208 (0.42)
- Assist: 103 (0.21)
- Total goal-scoring rate: 0.63
Wayne Rooney has given out the third most assists in Premier League history, behind only Ryan Giggs and Cesc Fàbregas. This shows how creative he is. He has the second most goals, after Alan Shearer, and his overhead kick against Manchester City in 2011 was truly amazing (see 8:44 in the video).
Rooney grew up quickly and broke many scoring records when he was young. Everton saw him and became the youngest player to score for their first team (aged 16). Rooney won five Premier League titles with Manchester United, the FA Cup, three League Cups, the Champions League in 2008, and the Europa League in 2017.
Rooney was named Player of the Season in 2010 and was three times on the PFA team of the year. He also has 120 caps for England and is the record goal scorer for England and Manchester United, even though he sometimes moved into midfield to start attacks instead of finishing them.
Didier Drogba
- Premier League teams: Chelsea (2004-2012, 2014-2015)
- Appears: 254
- Goals: 104 (0.41)
- Assist: 55 (0.22)
- Total goal-scoring rate: 0.63
Didier Drogba almost didn’t become a pro football player in France. Before he was 21, he was healthy enough to train regularly and wasn’t a regular goal scorer until he was 24. Once he reached his full potential, he moved to Marseille and then to Chelsea.
At Chelsea, Drogba won the Premier League four times, the FA Cup four times, the League Cup 3 times, and the Champions League in 2012. Even though he wasn’t always good, Drogba could score when it mattered. He scored 9 goals in nine cup finals (and won eight of them), and he scored many goals in league games against teams trying to win the title.
Separately, Drogba won the Golden Boot in 2007 with 20 goals and again in 2010 with 29 goals. He also had the most assists in 2006 and was on the PFA team of the year twice. He played for Ivory Coast 105 times.
Drogba was known for his size, strength, athleticism, ability in the air, powerful shots and free kicks, and ability to “hold up” the ball and bring teammates into play. Since he stopped playing football in 2018 (at age 40), Drogba has helped several good causes.
Harry Kane
- Premier League teams: Tottenham (2012–)
- Appears: 285
- Goals: 185 (0.65)
- Assist: 43 (0.15)
- Total goal-scoring rate: 0.80
Harry Kane joined Tottenham when he was 11 years old in 2004. He made the first team in 2009, played in the Premier League for the first time in 2012 after playing on loan for a few years, and scored his first goal in 2014.
He has scored 17 or more goals in eight straight league seasons. He has scored the most goals for one club in the history of the Premier League and is the third-highest scorer of all time (after Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney).
Kane hasn’t won anything with Tottenham, but he was in the PFA team of the year five times and won the Golden Boot in 2016, 2017, and 2021 for scoring 25 goals, 29 goals, and 23 goals, respectively. He’s played for England more than 70 times.
Kane also had the most assists (14) in 2021. He is known for his ability to link up with other players, his vision, and his wide range of passes. Kane is a target man but often moves into the middle of the field to pass long balls to faster players. He is known for his ability in the air, his fast work, and his strong and accurate shots.
Sergio Agüero
- Premier League teams: Manchester City (2011-2021) (2011-2021)
- Appears: 275
- Goals: 184 (0.67)
- Assist: 47 (0.17)
- Total goal-scoring rate: 0.84
Sergio Agüero played his first game in Argentina when he was only 15. By the period he was 17, he was scoring often enough to get a move to Atlético Madrid, where he won the Europa League in 2010. After a year, at 23, he joined Manchester City.
Agüero won five Premier League titles, one FA Cup, and six League Cups in his ten years at City. In 2015, he scored 26 goals and won the Golden Boot. He also made the PFA team of the year twice. He has the hat-tricks and the fifth most goals in Premier League history (12). He has also won 101 caps for Argentina and won the Copa América in 2021. Agüero was a skilled player who could score with either foot and had quick feet and a low center of gravity. His speed and dribbling made it easy for him to get past defenders, but he often didn’t have to because of how he moved and where he stood. He quit at the end of the year because he was sick.