Nigerian strikers Victor Osimhen and Victor Boniface have been ranked by SPORTbible among the top 10 best strikers in the world and excluding the duo, only Lautaro Martinez and Julian Alvarez feature as compatriots on the list.
With the focus solely on centre-forwards who play in the number nine role for their teams, there are few better then both Nigerian forwards with Osimhen recently claiming the 2023 African Footballer of the Year award for his goalscoring feat for Napoli in the 2022/23 season.
Below are the top 10 best centre forwards as ranked by SPORTbible
10. Robert Lewandowski
The Poland captain has been one of the best strikers for years now. His best form was at Bayern Munich but the 35-year-old has still showed his class at Barcelona. He won the Pichichi award last season as he scored 23 goals to finish LaLiga topscorer firing the Catalans to the league title.
This season, Lewandowski has scored 15 goals across all competitions for the defending champions.
9. Cristiano Ronaldo
Some may argue that the Saudi Pro League isn’t all that but Ronaldo bagged 54 goals for club and country in 2023 and was the world’s top scorer.
This season for Al Nassr, the Portuguese legend is still firing the goals with 21 goals already in 19 league games while also adding four in six AFC Champions League games.
8. Julian Alvarez
The World Cup winner has played in a deeper role on occasion this term but is still a number nine at heart and has played there with distinction too. When Erling Haaland was missing through injury, he stepped up and provided the goals including playing a crucial part in Man City’s treble winning campaign last season and in Argentina’s 2022 World Cup win.
He is currently on 14 goals this season across all competitions for City.
7. Victor Boniface
The 23-year-old has developed into one of the deadliest frontmen around, with 16 goals and eight assists for table-topping Bayer Leverkusen.
Before his current injury, he has been instrumental to Xabi Alonso’s side who are vying for a first Bundesliga title and is still their topscorer despite missing over two months of action. They currently sit first in the table with 58 points after 22 matches.
6. Heung-Min Son
Ange Postecoglou coped with the departure of Harry Kane by moving Heung-Min Son centrally and giving him the captaincy. The South Korea international has stepped up to both responsibilities and although he hasn’t hit Kane numbers for the Spurs, he has contributed both in front of goal and creatively.
He has scored 12 goals and provided seven assists for Tottenham this season.
5. Lautaro Martinez
Making the top five is a criminally underrated striker and the second Argentine on the list. Martinez is the Serie A top scorer with 20 goals this term, eight off the second and he looks like he could fire Inter to the Scudetto.
He also contributed to Argentina’s World Cup win and his form this season will have him on the radar of the biggest clubs in the Premier League and Europe.
4. Victor Osimhen
One of the most sought-after strikers in the world. The African Footballer of the Year was unplayable last season as Napoli won the league for the first time since 1990. The striker also finished the season as the league’s top scorer with 26 goals.
He’s not quite hit the same heights this season for a side seriously struggling but expect him to get a big move in the summer.
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According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Chelsea are among the most interested clubs in the Super Eagles striker and the Blues are ready to pay his €130m clause at the end of the season.
3. Kylian Mbappe
The World Cup winner can play anywhere across the front three but his pace and finishing makes him a truly devastating forward. A mooted move to Real Madrid might just bring him that elusive Ballon d’Or as he finished third in the last ranking behind Haaland and Lionel Messi.
Clinical for France and PSG, Mbappe was the second-highest goalscorer last season with 53 goals, just one behind CR7. This season, he has already scored 31 goals across all competitions for Les Parisiens and the 2022 World Cup topscorer has scored nine goals in eight games for France in the Euros qualifiers.
2. Harry Kane
The England skipper has been one of the very best strikers in world football for a number of years now and has hit an impressive 28 goals in 29 games for Bayern Munich following his summer move.
1. Erling Haaland
The Norweigian’s debut season in England saw him hit a record-breaking 52 goals as Manchester City won the treble.
Haaland has been plagued by injury this term but is back and firing again. A brace against Everton took him to 21 goals in 26 games this term while he blanked against Chelsea in their 1-1 draw.
