From Andy Cole’s 34-goal haul to Erling Haaland rewriting the record books, these are the finest first seasons the Premier League has ever produced.
1. Erling Haaland – Manchester City 2022-23
36 Premier League goals in 35 appearances. 52 across all competitions as City completed the treble. Back-to-back hat-tricks against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest in his first month announced him immediately.
He broke Cole and Shearer’s long-standing record in nine fewer games – a record that had stood for nearly three decades. Nothing in Premier League history compares to what Haaland produced in his debut campaign. The greatest first season the league has ever seen.
ALSO: Top 10 highest points totals in Premier League history
2. Andrew Cole – Newcastle 1993-94
34 goals and 13 assists across 42 games – the first player ever to top both the goals and assists charts in the same season. His 47 goal involvements in a single campaign has never been beaten in over 30 years. Cole was relentless, scoring in 11 successive league games between January and April. A debut season that set a benchmark nobody has come close to matching.
3. Kevin Phillips – Sunderland 1999-2000
30 goals for a Sunderland side that finished seventh. He outscored his teammates combined, won the European Golden Shoe and remains the only Englishman ever to do so. Phillips arrived with almost no expectation and produced one of the most surprising individual seasons in the competition’s history. A debut that came completely out of nowhere.
AFRICA PICKS: Football tips and predictions
4. Fernando Torres – Liverpool 2007-08
24 Premier League goals in his debut season at Anfield, making him the most prolific foreign player in a debut season in English football at the time. The first player since Robbie Fowler to score more than 20 league goals in a first campaign. Torres was voted Liverpool’s Player of the Year and rounded off a remarkable season by scoring the winner for Spain in the Euro 2008 final. At his peak, there was no better striker in the world.
5. Ruud van Nistelrooy – Manchester United 2001-02
23 goals and eight assists in his debut campaign, finishing as the division’s top scorer and immediately establishing himself as one of the most clinical strikers in the world. Van Nistelrooy was ice cold in front of goal from the very first game. A debut that left no one in any doubt about what he was capable of.
6. Sergio Aguero – Manchester City 2011-12
23 goals including the most iconic moment in Premier League history. His stoppage-time winner against QPR on the final day gave City the title on goal difference. Aguero scored twice on his debut and never looked back. A debut season defined by a single moment that will never be forgotten.
ALSO: 97 points and still no title – the Premier League’s biggest near-misses
7. Thierry Henry – Arsenal 1999-2000
17 goals and nine assists as Arsene Wenger transformed him from a winger into one of the most devastating strikers the league has ever seen. Henry took time to find his best form but when he did, the Premier League had a new standard for forward play. The foundation of a career that would make him Arsenal’s all-time record scorer.
8. Jurgen Klinsmann – Tottenham 1994-95
21 goals in his debut season as the first genuine global superstar to arrive in the Premier League. Klinsmann instantly endeared himself to supporters and proved that the league could attract the very best in the world. A trailblazer whose impact extended far beyond his goal tally.
9. Didier Drogba – Chelsea 2004-05
10 goals and 10 assists under Jose Mourinho in a debut season that immediately established him as the most physically imposing striker in the league. Drogba was a problem for every defender he faced from day one. The numbers understate the impact he had on that Chelsea side and on the Premier League as a whole.
10. Michu – Swansea 2012-13
18 goals from a player signed for £2 million from Rayo Vallecano. The Premier League’s ultimate one-season wonder – a debut so brilliant and so unexpected that it has never been repeated. Michu briefly made the football world sit up and ask who he was. Within a year, injuries had taken their toll and he was never the same player again.
Honourable mentions
Mohamed Salah – Liverpool 2017-18
Salah made his Premier League debut at Chelsea before joining Liverpool, which rules him out of this list – but his first full season at Anfield was historic. 32 goals and 11 assists in 36 appearances – 10 more goal involvements than any other player that season. He set a new record for goals in a 38-game campaign, won the Golden Boot and was named PFA Players’ Player of the Year. Nobody saw it coming.
N’Golo Kante – Leicester City 2015-16
Signed for just £5.6 million, Kante arrived virtually unknown and proceeded to make more tackles and interceptions than any other player in the division. His 175 tackles were 31 more than any other player, his 157 interceptions 15 more than the next best. He won the title with Leicester in one of sport’s greatest upsets. A debut that defied all logic.
READ: De Bruyne vs Fernandes – Who is the Premier League’s greatest playmaker?
Dennis Bergkamp – Arsenal 1995-96
One of the most elegant and technically gifted players the Premier League has ever seen, Bergkamp arrived from Inter Milan in 1995 with a point to prove after two difficult seasons in Italy. 11 goals in his debut season was just the beginning – Bergkamp was known for his fine technique, plentiful assists and breathtaking goals. The foundation of an 11-year Arsenal career that made him one of the greatest players in the competition’s history.
Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
