Premier League boots: What is the division’s top-scoring footwear?
BACK in the day, choosing football boots was easy – everybody wanted Predators.
But simple black boots are a thing of the past.
Now there are hundreds on the market, each seemingly more bizarrely complex than the next.
Do I want the luminous orange or the lime green? Laces or no laces? Do I need built-in socks?
And let’s not even start on Mario Balotelli’s mohawked monstrosities.
All that really matters is goals – especially if you want to make a late bid for the World Cup squad.
So, what is the best pair to pick if you want to find the back of the net?
Using data from Football Boots DB, we’ve found out what EVERY goalscorer in the Premier League this season is wearing to discover the division’s top-scoring boot.
WHICH BRAND COMES OUT ON TOP?
ON the face of it, Nike.
Excluding own goals, the ball has hit the back of the net 309 in the Prem this season – most of them from Manchester City.
And of those strikes, 169 have come off of a Nike boot (or the head of someone wearing a pair).
That equates to 54.7 per cent of all goals scored this campaign.
A total of 116 have come from players wearing Adidas, 18 from Puma and 5 were scored from a Mizuno foot.
While finally, Michail Antonio one goal is the only netted from and Umbro boot.
WHAT IS THE TOP SCORING BOOT?
ROMELU LUKAKU ditched his Nike boot deal for Adidas this season… and it’s helped fire the Adidas X 17.1 right to the top of the table (even if the trick hasn’t worked for United).
The Belgian’s eight goals – plus the same number as Man City’s Gabriel Jesus – have helped the super-light polkadotted footwear notch 50 Prem strikes already.
It is the most popular boot in the league, with 8.6 per cent of players wearing it.
Who wears the Adidas X 17.1?
Gabriel Jesus – Man City (8 goals)
Romelu Lukaku – Man Utd (8)
Glenn Murray – Brighton (4)
Pascal Gross – Brighton (3)
Sam Vokes – Burnley (3)
Michy Batshuayi – Chelsea (2)
Tomer Hemed – Brighton (2)
Jay Rodriguez – West Brom (2)
Cesar Azpilicueta – Chelsea (1)
Nacer Chadli – West Brom (1)
Steve Cook – Bournemouth (1)
Troy Deeney – Watford (1)
Jermain Defoe – Bournemouth (1)
Demarai Gray – Leicester (1)
Ahmed Hagazy – West Brom (1)
Vicente Iborra – Leicester (1)
Daryl Janmaat – Watford (1)
Christian Kabasele – Watford (1)
Saed Kolasinac – Arsenal (1)
Joel Matip – Liverpool (1)
Alfie Mawson – Swansea (1)
James Morrison – West Brom (1)
Matt Phillips – West Brom (1)
Diafra Sakho – West Ham (1)
David Silva – Man City (1)
Moussa Sissoko – Tottenham (1)
And in fact, a total of 26 different goalscorers are wearing a pair this season – making it the most prolific on this list.
Nike’s super-agile Hypervenom Phantom III comes in second with 45 goals, from the likes of Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and Alexandre Lacazette.
And it’s Nike for the rest of the top five with the Mercurial Vapor XI, Mercurial Superfly V and Magista Opus II picking up the minor honours.
WHERE’S MOHAMED SALAH?
YOU may have noticed that the Premier League’s top scorer is not on this list.
That’s because free-scoring Liverpool winger Salah has been sporting a pair of Adidas X 17+ Purespeeds throughout his goal-laden campaign.
Appropriately named for the rapid Egyptian, the Purespeed has helped the Kop star lead the charts with nine goals this season.
However, actually designed for creators rather than scorers, its wearers have notched just 21 goals so far.
And what of the rest of the Prem’s best marksmen?
We are yet to mention eight-goal Sergio Aguero so far… that’s because he wears Puma ONEs.
While six-striker pair Leroy Sane and Jamie Vardy wear the Nike Mercurial Superfly V.
SO WHICH ONE IS BEST?
WELL, it seems the best players seem to score goals, whatever they’ve got on their feet.