Danny Murphy backs Chelsea and Arsenal stars to rival Erling Haaland for Golden Boot

Ex-England midfielder Danny Murphy (Picture: BBC)

Danny Murphy believes Chelsea striker Joao Pedro is the ‘main threat’ to Erling Haaland winning a fourth Premier League Golden Boot award.

Manchester City superstar Haaland has enjoyed another sensational start to the new season, scoring five goals in his first five Premier League appearances to jump to the top of the goalscoring charts.

Haaland already has three Premier League Golden Boot awards, only missing out on the gong once since his move to the Etihad Stadium, in the 2024-25 campaign when he was edged out by Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.

Murphy expects Haaland to finish the current season as the Premier League’s top goalscorer once again and believes his biggest rival will be Chelsea’s Pedro.

Pedro has already scored three goals for the Blues this term, putting him joint-third in the early standings behind Haaland and Liverpool striker Alexander Isak, who has four.

Murphy also views Arsenal’s Kai Havertz as a possible ‘dark horse’ in the Premier League Golden Boot race given his importance to Mikel Arteta’s defending champions.

Arsenal signed Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting last summer but Havertz has nevertheless retained his status as Arteta’s first-choice striker at the Emirates Stadium.

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland (Picture: Reuters)

‘I think Joao Pedro is his main threat to Erling Haaland because of all the qualities he’s got and, more importantly, who’s feeding him,’ former England midfielder Murphy told Snabbare.

‘When you’ve got Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers feeding him every week, if they stay fit and aren’t in Europe playing one game a week, he’s going to get chances, that’s for sure.

‘I still think even if he has a brilliant season he’ll fall behind Haaland, because Haaland’s got this wonderful ability to score all types of scrappy goals even when he’s not playing well or looks a little bit out of the game.

Chelsea’s Joao Pedro (Picture: Getty)

Arsenal’s Kai Havertz (Picture: Getty)

‘He somehow finds a way of scoring. It’s ridiculous and incredible what he’s doing.

‘The other dark horse, if he stays fit, might be Havertz, not necessarily to catch Haaland, but to be in the top three or four, because Havertz is a calm finisher.

‘If he stays fit Arsenal are going to get him chances, plus he’s brilliant in the air. I think he could be up there pushing behind Haaland, because if Arsenal keep dominating and winning games like they do, and he looks fit, he’s going to score loads of goals.’