The major story of the most recent round of Premier League fixtures was surrounding the return of one, Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, Liverpool star Mohamed Salah walked away with an equal number of plaudits, after all was said and done, this past weekend.
The Egyptian forward became the 30th member to the famed Premier League ‘100 club’, after bagging his century goal in Liverpool’s 3-0 victory against Leeds United, at Elland Road on Sunday afternoon.
This is just another substantial accolade in the glittering career of Salah, who won the Premier League title with the Merseyside club, back in 2020.
Mo Salah In The PL
He initially arrived at the English top-flight when he signed for Chelsea from Basel in January 2014. Becoming the first Egyptian born player to line-out for the famous London outfit.
Salah made his Premier League debut against Newcastle United, on the 8th of February, coming on as a substitute.
Ultimately, his time at Chelsea was clouded in difficulty. And before the 2014/15 season, it was believed he would return to his homeland to partake in forced military service.
That never came to fruition, following a meeting with Egypt’s Prime Minister, Ibrahim Mahlab, and his then national team coach, Shawky Gharieb.
Loan spells to Italian sides Florentina and Roma would accompany this difficult spell. And Salah would eventually secure a permanent move to the latter Serie A side in August 2016, for a fee of €15m.
The now heralded ‘Egyptian King’ left England with only 2 league goals to his name, during 13 appearances.
Many even proclaimed him a flop upon arrival to Liverpool in June 2017. With plenty of eyebrows raised over the initial fee of £36.5m, but 98 league goals, and countless personal honours later, and it’s safe to say it worked out quite well for the living Liverpool legend.
‘100 Club’
So, like always when something notable happens, it gets the Big Kick Off thinking.
Mo Salah has joined some high-profiled names like Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry, Wayne Rooney, Sergio Aguero and Robin van Persie, who’ve all bagged 100+ goals throughout their Premier League careers.
But, what about those who haven’t reached that milestone?
It certainly doesn’t make them bad strikers. In fact, some supremely talented players haven’t reached the 100-goal mark for one reason or another.
So, that’s what we’ll be nattering on about today.
Who are the best strikers from the history of the Premier League to never score 100 goals?
For this list we took goals, league titles and general qualities all into consideration.
If you feel like we’ve missed somebody out, let us know in the comment section below, along with your full picks.
Before we dive in, some honourable mentions. Paolo Di Canio, Dimitar Berbatov, Fernando Torres, Gianfranco Zola, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, James Beattie, Mark Viduka, Duncan Ferguson, and Emmanuel Adebayor all deserve some love for their goal scoring escapades.
5. Kevin Phillips
Poor Kev, destined to wander this earth, labelled a one-season wonder by many.
This is due to his stellar 1999/00 campaign in the English top tier.
While playing for Sunderland that season, the former England international scored 30 league goals, finishing up as the Premier League top goal-scorer. The tally was also enough to see him win the historic European Golden Boot award.
Albeit that was the pinnacle of his career, discovering superhuman form while bagging 30 goals in 36 matches.
Away from that, Phillips was always a reliable goal getter during his 23-year playing career.
While adored at Sunderland, Kevin represented Southampton, Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Blackpool, and Crystal Palace in the Premier League, netting 92 goals in the process.
A sizable portion of his success came in the English Football League. But to call him a one-season wonder simply isn’t true.
4. Luis Suarez
Probably somewhat of a controversial pick.
Perhaps, his Liverpool counterpart Fernando Torres could’ve got the nod here. But we’ll happily stick to our guns when talking about the Uruguayan sensation, he’ll be delighted when he finds out.
When talking about Suarez, his baggage will always be mentioned.
Whether it be his multiple biting incidents, the dicey situation involving Manchester United’s Patrice Evra and his handball denial of Ghana during the 2010 World Cup. The man was a pantomime villain to many, but nobody could ever deny his sheer talent.
He arrived at Anfield in January 2011 from Dutch giants Ajax, for £22.8m.
The Liverpool faithful would have to wait to see the goal trail. But from 2012 until 2014, the man was simply unplayable.
During the 2013/14 season, Suarez grabbed himself 31 league goals. Finishing as the Premier League top scorer, while also picking up the European Golden Boot, and PFA Players’ Player of the Year awards.
Liverpool dramatically failed to win the league that season, but Suarez proved himself as a special talent. One can only imagine what he could’ve done in the current squad with Mo Salah and Sadio Mane.
Overall, Luis Suarez finished his Premier League spell with 69 goals (nice) and has continued to find success in La Liga.
3. Ruud van Nistelrooy
The Dutch phenom was simply electric during his five-season tenure at Manchester United.
He was originally due to sign from PSV in 2000. But the transfer was delayed because of a cruciate knee ligament injury suffered just days before his arrival to Old Trafford, leaving him out of action for a year.
The poacher caused havoc upon his eventual arrival in 2001.
During his first season he scored 23 times and picked up the PFA Players’ Player of the Year trophy.
From there, Ruud would go on a rampage both domestically, and in Europe.
He’d win the Premier League Player of the Season, and Golden Boot the following season. Van Nistelrooy would also win his sole Premier League title after that fantastic 2002/03 campaign.
His goals-per-game ratio was breath-taking, scoring 95 goals in 150 Premier League outings. He also held the record for most consecutive games scored in, for 16 seasons, until the record was broken by Jamie Vardy.
Thankfully for defenders, Ruud joined Real Madrid in 2006.
2. Eric Cantona
Sticking with the red side of Manchester, we couldn’t not include this iconic figure.
Another man who wasn’t far away from controversy. He received special treatment from the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson because that’s exactly what he was, special.
Of course, he’ll always be intrinsically linked with the infamous kung fu kick in Selhurst Park in 1995. But the French forward changed United.
He’s looked back on as one of the greatest players of his generation and is affectionally known as ‘King Eric’ to fans the world over.
The classic collar up, chest out is the instant image that springs to mind, and we’d need more than just a few paragraphs to do his career justice.
Cantona won four league titles with United throughout the 90’s, winning the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award in 1994. He even took his rightful place in the Premier League Hall of Fame earlier this year.
Before his Manchester United days, Cantona scored the first ever Premier League hattrick for Leeds United, when they beat Tottenham Hotspur 5-0 in 1992.
An icon in every sense of the word. Upon his retirement in 1997, the versatile star finished his Premier League career with 70 goals in 156 games.
1. Dennis Bergkamp
By no means the most prolific scorer on this list. But the Dutch maestro oozed class every time he stepped out for Arsenal.
Dennis Bergkamp arrived at Highbury in 1995 from Inter Milan and remained a focal point at the club since his retirement in 2006.
Most notably during that timeframe, he won three league titles under Arsene Wenger. Most famously been apart of the invincible squad of 2003/04.
Arguably, he was always overshadowed by the greatness of Ian Wright, and later Thierry Henry. But throughout his 315 game Premier League career, Bergkamp was a vital part to the success of Arsenal.
As an individual, his best season came in 1997/98, when he got himself 16 league goals, and won the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award.
Rightfully so, he’s been immortalised since he hung up his boots. Entering the English Football Hall of Fame in 2007, and having his own statue proudly displayed outside of the Emirates Stadium.
An elegant player with the ball at his feet, Bergkamp was truly gifted.