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Bukayo Saka’s wonderful turn and strike for England against Ukraine in a 2-0 win at Wembley on Sunday afternoon in UEFA Euro 2024 qualification sparked a generic debate: is Bukayo Saka the best winger in the world right now?
Well, this is The Stats Zone’s current top five ranking of the best forwards in the world right now, based on form. Due to the criteria being judged around form, the likes of Karim Benzema and Robert Lewandowski, as well as even Harry Kane, have been left out, whilst there is still not quite a place in the list for Khvicha Kvaratshkhelia… despite his extremely impressive breakout season with the imperious Serie A league leaders, Napoli.
5 | MARCUS RASHFORD (Manchester United)
Club stats this season: 27 G & 9 A
Marcus Rashford has had some special seasons as a Manchester United player and he is set to post some serious number, once again, in what is already his best individual campaign in terms of his stats with 27 goals and nine assists.
In 12 games since the return from the Premier League break due to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Rashford has scored ten and provided one assist. In all competitions, he has 19 goals and eight assists in 25 matches. With that kind of form, he is very much within the current top five forwards in the world in terms of form.
4 | BUKAYO SAKA (Arsenal)
Club stats this season: 13 G & 10 A
Statistically, Bukayo Saka is not quite in the Marcus Rashford bracket but it has to be said that the Arsenal forward has had a bigger impact on his side and the league as a whole with The Gunners seemingly romping towards their first Premier League title in 19 years.
The 21 year-old winger is the first player in the Premier League this season to hit double figures for both goals and assists. Quite simply, if you are the key and arguably best attacker for the current best team in the Premier League then you are among the very elite forwards in the world.
3 | KYLIAN MBAPPE (Paris Saint-Germain)
Club stats this season: 32 G & 8 A
Within a season in which Kylian Mbappe has already hit 40 goals and assists, the 24 year-old Frenchman also won the Golden Boot award at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Mbappe has recently been captaining PSG as well as being awarded the France captaincy on a full-time job. In his last seven matches for club and country, he has notched eight times and provided three assists. With, probably, at least a decade or so still at the top, he is already forging himself a legacy as an ‘all-timer’ in the sport.
2 | VICTOR OSIMHEN (Napoli)
Club stats this season: 25 G & 5 A
As mentioned, there not be room for his teammate Khvicha Kvaratshkelia but Victor Osimhen very much is one of the key forwards in world football right now. Under the management of Luciano Spalletti, Napoli are marching towards their third ever Scudetto and the first outside of the Diego Maradona era.
The Neapolitans are being exceptionally speer-headed by their outstanding striker, Victor Osimhen. The 24 year-old Nigerian has notched 21 goals in 23 games. With 11 games to go, he is on course to score 31 goals in Serie A this season. That number has only been beaten twice in Serie A since the 1958/59 campaign.
1 | ERLING HAALAND (Manchester City)
Club stats this season: 42 G & 5 A
42 goals in 36 appearances in the club season so far across all competitions is, quite frankly, ridiculous. With 11 games to go in the Premier League season, the 22 year-old Norwegian striker is just six goals away from the record goals in a Premier League season.
Despite Manchester City already being reigning champions and it being a fair argument to suggest they are not quite the same team as they were last season, it would still be very harsh to not simply see Haaland’s scoring stats and not rate him as the best and most in-form forward in world football right now.
