League One Top Scorer: Latest odds on who will win the third tier’s Golden Boot award
The new football season begins on August 6th, and today we’re continuing our EFL ante-post content by taking a look at the League One top scorer odds in England’s third tier.
Who are the favourites?
Charlie Wyke - Sunderland (10/1)
Sunderland are favourites to win League One this season at 13/2, while they are as short as 9/4 for promotion. It is, then, unsurprising to see their leading goalscorer at the head of the top scorer betting ahead of the new campaign starting.
Charlie Wyke finished second in the third tier’s Golden Boot standings in 2020/21 after netting an impressive 26 league goals, but missed out on the trophy thanks to Peterborough’s prolific frontman Jonson Clarke-Harris notching 33 times.
This term, Wyke will have top spot firmly in his sights, and with a hugely talented group of players supporting him - the likes of Aiden McGeady, Luke O'Nien and Lynden Gooch, to name a few - he should find opportunities in front of goal fairly easy to come by.
Joe Pigott - Ipswich Town (12/1)
Second-favourites in the League One odds for promotion are Ipswich at 5/2. The Tractor Boys have strengthened their squad with the addition of striker Joe Pigott, who joins the club on a free transfer after leaving AFC Wimbledon, and he will be looking to replicate the dazzling form he displayed in 2020/21 this time out.
Pigott scored 20 goals for the Plough Lane club last term, finishing the campaign as the fourth-highest goalscorer in League One. He is an EFL veteran despite only being 27 years of age, having previously turned out for Charlton, Newport, Southend, Luton and Cambridge in recent seasons, and will bring a wealth of experience to the East Anglians’ forward line this term which should give their chances of escaping the third division a sizeable boost.
Jayden Stockley - Charlton Athletic (14/1)
Third-favourite in the League One top scorer odds is Charlton front man Jayden Stockley. The 27-year-old joined the Addicks on loan from Preston in January and scored 8 league goals in just 22 outings throughout the second half of the campaign, showing the quality he holds in this division.
His transfer was made permanent in June, bolstering the south London club’s chances of promotion in 2021/22. While Stockley perhaps didn’t quite cut it in the Championship, he is certainly a player of real quality in League One and will feel he has somewhat of a point to prove this time out.
At 6ft 2, the former Bournemouth trainee is a towering presence and possesses a huge amount of physicality. He’s great in the air, strong on the ball and clever in the final-third, so is definitely a player worth keeping an eye on this season; 14/1 is an attractive price given he will be the focal point in one of the division’s strongest teams.
Matty Taylor - Oxford United (16/1)
Oxford’s Matty Taylor follows up in the betting at 16/1, which is a price that could represent a decent slice of value when you look at his goal-return from the previous two campaigns.
The 31-year-old found the net 13 times in League One during 2019/20, before scoring 19 goals throughout last season which resulted in him finishing as the division’s joint-fifth top scorer.
Taylor is priced at 12/1 with most firms, but Betfred are offering 16s on the Oxford front man to finish as top scorer, which could also be a decent each-way play as if he finishes in the top four for goals this season, you would still receive a payout at odds of 4/1 (¼ odds).
The longshot
James Norwood - Ipswich (33/1 each-way)
While Joe Pigott has been drafted in to add some firepower to Ipswich’s front line, current striker James Norwood is still a huge asset in front of goal. The ex-Tranmere striker endured a fairly underwhelming campaign last time out, scoring 9 league goals as the Tractor Boys finished 9th, while he ended the 2019/20 season with 11 goals in the third tier.
However, with a new strike partner of real quality in the shape of Pigott, alongside the arrival of highly-rated midfielder Rakeem Harper from West Brom and winger Wes Burns from Fleetwood - among a number of others - Norwood could indeed see an increase of opportunities in the final-third due to more creative reinforcement being added to the Portman Road club’s starting XI.
It’s difficult to envisage Norwood out-scoring the rest of the players in the league, though at odds of 33/1 (Betfred), he could be a beneficial each-way selection. This would mean that if the 30-year-old ended the campaign as one of the top four leading goalscorers, your bet would be paid out as winner at odds of 8.25/1.
You can find a full list of League One top scorer odds listed below.
