Premier League Golden Boot Race: Mohamed Salah, Erling Haaland Tied for 1st Ahead of 2023 AFCON

• Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah are tied for first in the Premier League Golden Boot race
• Son Heung-min grabbed a share of third after scoring in his last game before the Asian Cup
• Jarrod Bowen is in fifth place with 11 goals scored for West Ham United during this season

The Golden Boot race in the Premier League is heating up.

Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah are locked in a tight battle, with both star players sharing the lead after Matchday 20.

Sports Brief looks at the top scorers in the English top flight ahead of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Premier League 2023/24 Top Scorers

1. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool, 14 goals)

Salah signed off for the AFCON with a double, leading Liverpool to a 4-2 win over Newcastle, per The Guardian.

Marcus Rashford's net worth, salary, age, stats, house, cars, contract

Football

He grabbed a share of the lead in the Golden Boot race with that brace, tying Erling Haaland with 14 league goals this season.

The bad news for Salah is that he won't be able to add to that tally anytime soon. He could miss four Premier League matches if Egypt makes it to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations.

1. Erling Haaland (Manchester City, 14 goals)

Salah's AFCON trip is good news for Haaland, who has been sidelined since December because of a foot injury. He has not played a match for Manchester City since the 1-0 loss to Aston Villa last month.

He still holds a share of the lead in the Golden Boot race, however, thanks to his excellent start this Premier League season.

He scored 14 goals in City's first 13 league matches, including a hat-trick against Fulham and braces against Burnley, Manchester United, and Chelsea.

15 times Erling Haaland shocked the football world, is he the best?

Football

Kevin De Bruyne's return to City's lineup also is a major boost for Haaland's quest to win back-to-back Premier League Golden Boot awards.

3. Son Heung-min (Tottenham, 12 goals)

Son signed off the Asian Cup with his 12th goal of the season, leading Tottenham to a 3-1 win over Bournemouth, per the BBC.

He grabbed a share of third place in the Golden Boot race, tying Dominic Solanke with 12 league goals this season.

Son won't be able to add that goal tally anytime soon after the South Korean football team called him up. The 31-year-old could miss four Premier League games if South Korea makes it to the final of the Asian Cup.

3. Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth, 12 goals)

Solanke has been on fire for Bournemouth lately, scoring in four of their last six league matches.

He recorded a stunning hat-trick against Nottingham Forest, helping the Cherries secure a 3-2 victory. With Salah and Son on international duty and Haaland still out injured, Salanke has a grand opportunity to move up the scoring charts.

Erling Haaland goals: 12 of the best goals by The Terminator

Football

5. Jarrod Bowen (West Ham, 11 goals)

Bowen remained in the hunt for the Golden Boot award after scoring three goals in the month of December. He scored in the Hammers' wins against Tottenham, Wolves, and Manchester United.

Exciting news! We have a WhatsApp channel 🤩

➡️ Click to join our channel for all your favourite sports news.

Alexander-Arnold suffers knee injury

Sports Brief also previously reported on Liverpool losing another key player to injury.

Trent Alexander-Arnold suffered a reported knee injury and will be out for a few weeks.

This is a massive blow for the Reds, who will already be without Salah and Wataru Endo.