Last season saw Werder Bremen striker Niclas Füllkrug and RB Leipzig’s Christopher Nkunku share the award for the Bundesliga’s leading goalscorer with both scoring 16 goals in the 2022/23 season. This season starts afresh with the race for the Torjägerkanone getting a whole new field of competitors. So just who might win the top award for the most Bundesliga goals this season? Here are the runners and riders……
Harry Kane
The obvious name on everyone’s lips is €100 million man Harry Kane, who Bayern have brought in as the heir to Robert Lewandowski’s scoring mantle. The Pole had a monopoly over the Torjägerkanone for five successive seasons (seven in total) before his move to Barcelona and the question for many is not if Kane will top the scoring charts, but how many he will score.
Sebastien Haller
Bayern were pushed and challenged for the title like in no other recent season last season and Dortmund will look to do the same again this year. Sebastien Haller scored nine goals despite being ruled out for the first half of the campaign as he recovered from testicular cancer. Given a full season with BVB firing on all cylinders, the Ivorian could be amongst the top scorers. His best Bundesliga tally with Eintracht Frankfurt was 15, but he did score 21 in his final season at Ajax.
Lois Openda
RB Leipzig are being tipped to seriously join the title race this season and with Christopher Nkunku inevitably sold to Chelsea, the club have splashed out a club record €43 million on Belgian striker Lois Openda to replicate his goals this season. His goal stats have been increasing steadily over the past three seasons with 21 scored last season at Lens. An increase on that figure would certainly put him in contention for the Bundesliga scoring crown.
Randal Kolo Muani
Kolo-Muani’s name might be removed from the race even before it gets going if his forecast transfer away from the club materialises, but there is still a remote chance Eintracht Frankfurt could hold onto him for a second season. He had a stellar breakout season last year scoring 15 and providing 16 assists.
Victor Boniface
Leverkusen are a team predicted to improve again this season and with Xabi Alonso’s attacking style, new signing Victor Boniface should be amongst the goals in his first season in the Bundesliga after joining from Union St. Gilloise. The Nigerian hasn’t yet hit double figures in his time in either Norway or Belgium, but he’s an outside bet to do well in Germany.
Kevin Volland
Ex-Leverkusen striker Volland is back in the Bundesliga after a spell with Monaco and he will be amongst the strikers competing for a place in Urs Fischer’s starting XI at Union Berlin. The Köpenicker are more renowned for their defence than their attacking vigour, but the 31-year-old should be amongst the goals as Union look to replicate the success of last season.
Niclas Füllkrug
Having won it jointly last season, Niclas Füllkrug won’t be too keen on handing the trophy back at the end of the season, so why not keep it by winning it again? Much will depend on where he is playing his football with a potential move away from Werder still very much on the cards. A switch to a more ambitious, attacking club would not harm his chances of leading the scoring charts again this season.
A.N Other
It’s very likely the leading scorer will come from one of the sides competing for the title, but as Niclas Füllkrug showed last year, even a team struggling towards the bottom end of the table can end up with the league’s leading marksman. Other names that will score goals this season include Leipzig’s Timo Werner and Tomas Cvancara at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Or could there be a midfield challenger to match the impressive scoring of Freiburg’s Vincenzo Grifo last season?
It is too soon to start etching Harry Kane’s name onto the trophy just yet even though he did score in his first game against Werder to lead the charts overnight. There will be bundles of goals scored this season, the quest to win the Torjägerkanone has begun.
