The 2025/26 season has been littered with genuine goal-fests as the days of dangerous corner kicks, long throw-ins and out-and-out centre-forwards gradually make a return to football at the top level.

Another refreshing factor has been the prolific form of the top strikers in the game, with the likes of Harry Kane, Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe and Victor Osimhen all terrorising defences both domestically and in Europe with their respective teams. 

Kane has become the fastest-ever player to score 100 goals for a club (104 games) in Europe’s top five leagues. Haaland accounts for 72.22 per cent of Manchester City’s league goals and he is on track to break his own record for the most goals scored in a Premier League season.

Elsewhere, Mbappe leads the La Liga goalscoring charts and he looks determined to drag Real Madrid to silverware having failed to do so despite his spectacular debut campaign. 

While Osimhen is on a tear in the UEFA Champions League, having now scored in eight consecutive European matches for Galatasaray. 

So who has been the most impressive marksman this term? And why is Osimhen not quite regarded in the same bracket as the others in world football? 

We must warn you, this article will be littered with mind-numbing statistics and incredible goalscoring feats of – simply put – goalscoring machines.

Harry Kane

Harry Kane is the most curious case on this list as he’s not blessed with a natural edge like pace, an extraordinary physique or aerial prowess, but his incredible game intelligence and technique set him apart in world football. 

The 32-year-old is living up to his billing as the most expensive signing in Bundesliga history, sending a number of goalscoring records tumbling as he lifted the first major honour of his career last term. Kane was named the Bundesliga Player of the Season as he finished as the top scorer for the second consecutive campaign.

The England captain has recorded 22 goals and three assists in 15 games already this season but his all-round displays have been even more impressive. Kane is playing his best football in a deeper role where he likes to turn and showcase his impressive range of passing. 

Those deep forays have been crucial for Bayern in the absence of Jamal Musiala, Kane is now being deployed in a free-roaming number 10 role behind Nicolas Jackson. This set-up allows the Chelsea loanee, Luis Diaz and Michael Olise to thrive on Kane’s ability to find their diagonal runs in-behind defences.

Elsewhere, his work rate and positional awareness also make him an asset to the team’s defensive structure, completely displaying his leadership and commitment to the cause. 

At this rate, the striker is set for another memorable campaign which could end with even more silverware for Bayern and that elusive trophy with England at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. 

Nevertheless, Kane could be available for a transfer fee of around €65 million next summer, due to an exit clause in his contract. It remains to be seen if he will stay in Bavaria, make a return to the Premier League or even continue his adventure elsewhere, but his goalscoring prowess means he will be highly sought-after in the summer.

Kylian Mbappe

Mbappe has looked the part in a Real Madrid shirt and embraced the weight of expectations since completing his dream move to the Spanish capital last season. The Frenchman broke the record for goals scored by a Real Madrid player in their debut season, on the way to winning the Pichichi Trophy and the European Golden Shoe.

The lack of a major trophy dampened the end of Mbappe’s first season but he has picked up where he left off. There have been 18 goals and two assists in 14 games already this season, as he became the fastest player to score 50 goals for Madrid since Cristiano Ronaldo.

Astonishingly, the 26-year-old is performing close to his Portuguese idol’s ridiculous standards, having become just the second Madrid player to score in eight consecutive La Liga matches, following his penalty against Valencia.

In fact, Mbappe has found the net in each league game he has appeared in, bar a 2-1 victory over Mallorca in August. An unsurprising inclusion in the FIFPro World XI has validated his time so far in the Spanish capital, but Mbappe will be desperate for collective achievements this term.      

At his current performance levels, everything is once again possible at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Erling Haaland

Frightening as it may sound, Haaland is playing at the top of his game. There have been notable improvements in his involvement in City’s play and the use of his raw physicality to beat defenders. 

Indeed, the Norwegian is now a father and appears to be at peak fitness, hence the laser focus and hunger following a disappointing 2024/25 season for Manchester City. The Cityzens have been reliant on their marksman’s consistent output, with 13 of their 18 league goals coming from the 25-year-old. 

While that over-dependence may come back to haunt them later in the season, they cannot overlook a man who has delivered 18 goals in 14 games across all competitions.

Par for the course, Haaland’s goal against Borussia Dortmund made him the first player to score in five consecutive Champions League games for three different clubs. It is safe to say he has an eye on Cristiano Ronaldo’s all-time record of 140 goals, having netted 54 times in 52 UCL games himself.

Haaland is single-handedly pushing the case for City’s return to lifting silverware this season, and fitness-permitting, he looks unstoppable. 

Victor Osimhen

A spectacular loan spell prompted Galatasaray to pay the highest transfer fee in Turkish football history, and that €75 million outlay is already paying dividends on the continental stage. The Nigerian striker has only added three to the 26 goals he scored in 30 Super Lig games last season, but Osimhen has been firing in Europe. 

Osimhen currently sits atop the Champions League goal standings with six, having played considerably less minutes (226 in three games) than Kane (311), Haaland (342) and Mbappe (350). 

His treble against Ajax broke all sorts of records as Osimhen became the first foreign player to score a hat-trick for Galatasaray. He joined Yakubu Aiyegbeni as the only Nigerians to score three times in a UCL game and also became his country’s all-time top scorer in UEFA competitions with 25 goals.

He is also spearheading Nigeria’s quest to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup following his superb hat-trick against Benin which propelled them to the continental playoffs against Gabon.

There is no stopping this physically imposing marksman, who surprisingly didn’t attract serious interest in his services from Europe’s best clubs over the summer. Osimhen is a proven goalscorer as much as Kane, Haaland and Mbappe, yet he is not revered with the same prestige.

His initial loan spell should have delivered a final warning to the rest of Europe of his standing as one of the best strikers in the world. Nevertheless, Osimhen keeps performing at a world-class level for club and country this season. 

Galatasaray and the Turkish League may not be the biggest stage in European football, but Osimhen’s quality is now undeniable. 

It’s high time the football world paid attention.