Ranking the 24 Players Who Have Scored 100 Premier League Goals
If he manages to score four more Premier League goals, then Stoke City's Peter Crouch will join and expand an exclusive club.
Presuming that no-one else gets there before him (and Sergio Aguero is the next closest player currently in the division on 85), then Crouch will become the 25th player to have netted 100 goals in the Premier League since its move to its current form in 1992.
But what about the other 24?
We know how many goals they scored, but who were the best players amongst them?
You're bound to have your own opinions, but here's one take on it.
24. Darren Bent
1 of 24
Goals: 106
Ask anyone to name the 24 players on this list, and it might be a while before they come to Darren Bent.
One of five players in our list to have scored his goals for six different clubs, the former Ipswich, Charlton, Tottenham, Sunderland, Aston Villa and Fulham forward was always a fairly reliable goalscorer who managed to pick up 13 England caps (scoring four goals), but concerns over his linkup play meant that he was never really considered a top-quality forward.
Now 31, Bent is challenging for promotion back to the Premier League with Derby County these days.
23. Dion Dublin
2 of 24
Goals: 111
Goals in the lower leagues at Cambridge United brought Dion Dublin to the attention of Alex Ferguson's Manchester United in 1992, and although it wouldn't quite work out for the big front man at Old Trafford, he would become one of the more recognisable Premier League forwards over the next decade with two different clubs.
He shared the Golden Boot with Liverpool's Michael Owen and Blackburn's Chris Sutton when in the colours of Coventry City in 1997/98 before moving on to Aston Villa and playing there for six years, helping them to the FA Cup final in 2000.
22. Emile Heskey
3 of 24
Goals: 110
Unfairly derided for much of his career for both club and country, Emile Heskey deserves his place on this list for his hard work and his occasional ability to turn in unstoppable performances.
After coming through the ranks at Leicester City, it was after an £11 million move to Liverpool in 2000 that we really began to see the best of Heskey, who scored 22 goals in his first full season at Anfield as the Reds won the League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup.
Being played out of position by Gerard Houllier didn't help his later Liverpool career, however, but he made up his Premier League century with later moves to Birmingham, Wigan and Aston Villa.
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21. Jermain Defoe
4 of 24
Goals: 132 (to date)
One of only two players in our 24 who are currently still playing in the Premier League, Jermain Defoe recently became the 11th top scorer in the division's history thanks to his goals for current club Sunderland.
More closely associated with his spells at West Ham, Portsmouth and two stints at Tottenham, Defoe carved out a reputation as one of the division's best pure goalscorers and could even be even higher in the list were it not for a year playing in MLS with Toronto.
20. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
5 of 24
Goals: 127
In scoring for the Mackems, Defoe has relegated Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink to 12th place in the 100-plus list, but the Dutchman just pips the Englishman here thanks to his more exciting style of play.
One of the division's top forwards in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Hasselbaink possessed a hugely powerful shot and could score from virtually any distance.
Whilst in the colours of Leeds United, he shared the Golden Boot with Liverpool's Michael Owen and Manchester United's Dwight Yorke in 1998/99 before he won it outright with 23 goals for Chelsea in 2000/01.
19. Nicolas Anelka
6 of 24
Goals: 125
Can you list all of the six clubs that Nicolas Anelka has scored Premier League goals for and in the right order?
There's Arsenal, Liverpool (everyone always forgets that loan spell), Manchester City, Bolton Wanderers, Chelsea and West Bromwich Albion. Got them all?
Famous for his attitude problems, at his best the French forward was an electric, pacy presence up front who was the top scorer in the Premier League in 2008/09, the season he turned 30 whilst wearing the blue of Chelsea.
18. Les Ferdinand
7 of 24
Goals: 149
Only seven players in Premier League history have scored more goals in the competition than Les Ferdinand, who exploded on to the scene as a dynamic, powerful forward whilst with Queens Park Rangers in the early 1990s.
His potential was fulfilled with later moves to Newcastle and Tottenham, whilst he probably deserved more than the 17 England caps he picked up during his career.
17. Robbie Keane
8 of 24
Goals: 126
An Irish legend, Robbie Keane's 126 Premier League goals came for six different clubs, but it was at Tottenham Hotspur where he really looked at home.
Possessing the abilities of both a skilful creator and a ruthless goalscorer, Keane could score both vital and beautiful goals, and he's rightly regarded as a legend at White Hart Lane.
Now 35, he's still going strong with Los Angeles Galaxy in MLS, and he'll be seen playing for the Republic of Ireland at the Euro 2016 finals next summer.
16. Dwight Yorke
9 of 24
Goals: 123
Another with goals for numerous Premier League clubs, Dwight Yorke is really only associated with two.
It was at Aston Villa that the Trinidadian really burst on to the scene and established himself as one of the most exciting forwards in the country, form that prompted a £12.6 million move to Manchester United in 1998.
As first seasons go, Yorke's at Old Trafford turned out to be pretty special. He was a key part of the side that won the treble, was the joint-top scorer in the Premier League and was voted the division's player of the year.
15. Ian Wright
10 of 24
Goals: 113
With much of his career taking place before the formation of the Premier League, Ian Wright would play for just seven seasons in the division, with six of those coming for his beloved Arsenal.
He twice scored 23 Premier League goals during a campaign, in both 1993/94 and 1996/97, and was a member of the Arsenal double-winning side the following season.
14. Teddy Sheringham
11 of 24
Goals: 146
There have been very few English players like Teddy Sheringham, who stamped his quality all over the Premier League during a long career that included goals for five different clubs.
The former Nottingham Forest, Tottenham, Manchester United, Portsmouth and West Ham forward is still the oldest goalscorer in the division thanks to a strike for the latter, but it was his spells at Spurs and United that proved to be the most memorable, and he was a vital part of United's 1998/99 treble-winning side.
13. Matt Le Tissier
12 of 24
Goals: 100
He just scrapes into our Premier League 100 club thanks to his exact century of strikes, but the fact that all of those goals came for the perennially struggling Southampton marks Matt Le Tissier out as a truly special talent.
He should certainly have won more than just his eight England caps and probably would have done had he moved to a bigger club, but there is little doubt that Le Tissier was a Premier League legend and one of the great "one-club men."
12. Andy Cole
13 of 24
Goals: 187
At the time of writing, he's level with Wayne Rooney as the second-top scorer in Premier League history, and Andy Cole found the net for six different clubs during his career in England's top flight.
Newcastle, Manchester United, Blackburn, Fulham, Manchester City and Portsmouth fans all saw him hit the net for their club (he also played for Sunderland), but he was doubtless at his best for both the Magpies and Red Devils.
His 34 goals for Newcastle in 1993/94 won him the Golden Boot, whilst he won five Premier League titles and the Champions League in Manchester.
11. Robin Van Persie
14 of 24
Goals: 144
Still in the top 10 but under threat from Jermain Defoe, Robin van Persie's name has been on the lips of fans of two of the biggest clubs in the division for much of the last decade.
A star at Arsenal, albeit one who suffered perennially with injuries, the Dutchman rose to become one of the very best forwards in Europe at the Gunners, for whom he scored 30 goals in 2011/12 to win the Golden Boot.
A contract dispute followed, however, and he moved on to Manchester United to become the driving force behind their 2012/13 title win, again ending as the division's top scorer.
10. Michael Owen
15 of 24
Goals: 150
Michael Owen scored a century-and-a-half of Premier League goals, but it is easy to forget that the vast majority of those (118) came in the red of Liverpool before he turned the age of 25, with back-to-back Golden Boots won in 1997/98 and 1998/99.
One of the best and brightest young talents that English football has ever produced, Owen was a world star before he was out of his teenage years, and although injuries later slowed him down following a year at Real Madrid, he was still able to add to his tally with spells at Newcastle, Manchester United and Stoke.
9. Robbie Fowler
16 of 24
Goals: 163
One of, if not the most natural finisher ever seen in the Premier League, Robbie Fowler often made scoring goals look ridiculously easy.
A legend at Liverpool after coming through the ranks on Merseyside, Fowler was known as "God" on the Kop thanks to his frequent scoring heroics, which included him reaching 50 Premier League goals at a younger age than any other player in the competition's history.
Later spells at Leeds and Manchester City also brought goals, but he couldn't stay away from Liverpool for long, rejoining the club on a free transfer in 2006.
8. Wayne Rooney
17 of 24
Goals: 187 (to date)
Wayne Rooney's next Premier League goal will take him into outright second place on the division's all-time top scorers' list, and whatever you think of the Manchester United captain's form, then that goal will surely come sooner rather than later.
The forward's rise from a hugely talented teenager at Everton to become one of the consistent forces in England's top division might still be seen as a disappointment to some, but he's still won five Premier League titles and the Champions League, as well as the PFA Player of the Year award in 2009/10.
7. Didier Drogba
18 of 24
Goals: 104
He's down at No. 23 in the list of the 24 players with 100-plus goals in Premier League history, but there can be little doubt that Didier Drogba has been one of the very best forwards ever to grace English football.
Strong, powerful and an absolute nightmare to defend against, Drogba was the spearhead of Jose Mourinho's successful Chelsea sides upon the Portuguese's first arrival in English football, with the Ivorian claiming back-to-back Premier League titles in 2004/05 and 2005/06 before two Golden Boots in 2006/07 and 2009/10.
6. Alan Shearer
19 of 24
Goals: 260
Way out on his own at the top of the Premier League scoring charts, Alan Shearer scored more than 100 league goals for both Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United.
He won the title in 1994/95, the same season that he picked up his first of three successive Golden Boots for being the top scorer in the division.
A powerful, strong forward capable of scoring all types of goals, Shearer could be considered an "old-fashioned" forward, the likes of whom we don't really see any more.
5. Frank Lampard
20 of 24
Goals: 177
The top-scoring midfielder in Premier League history, Frank Lampard is also the all-time top scorer in Chelsea's history following 13 seasons with the Blues.
He was hugely successful during that time, lifting three Premier League titles and the Champions League as well as several other trophies, whilst he also made it into the Premier League Team of the Year five times and was Premier League Player of the Year twice.
4. Steven Gerrard
21 of 24
Goals: 120
His early seasons spent playing at right-back and in defensive midfield ensured that Steven Gerrard didn't quite score as many Premier League goals as many would have imagined, but his influence on Liverpool during 17 years in the first team cannot be overstated.
The former Reds captain was the shining light in a team that frequently challenged for glory only to fall short, with Gerrard being voted into the PFA Team of the Year a record eight times, as well as winning the Players' Player of the Year in 2006 and the Football Writers' Player of the Year in 2009.
3. Ryan Giggs
22 of 24
Goals: 109
One of the first names and faces you conjure up when you think of the Premier League, winger Ryan Giggs is the most successful player in the competition's history, winning a staggering 13 league titles, all under manager Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.
The Welshman is the assistant coach to Louis van Gaal these days, with many suggesting that he will one day succeed the Dutchman in the Old Trafford hotseat. If he proves to be half as successful as a manager as he was a player, then United will be in for a treat.
2. Paul Scholes
23 of 24
Goals: 107
One of the best attacking midfielders England has ever produced, Paul Scholes created a reputation for scoring key goals for Manchester United during a one-club career that produced 11 Premier League titles.
Passing and long-range shooting were two of Scholes' specialities, with his ability to add a touch of class to everything that United did proving vital as Ferguson's side enjoyed success after success over two decades.
1. Thierry Henry
24 of 24
Goals: 175
Top spot, though, goes to a man who sits fifth in the all-time top scorers' list, with Thierry Henry's 175 league strikes for Arsenal proving the most that one man has scored for one club in the division.
At his best, the Frenchman could be untouchable, and he was named as the runner-up for the Ballon d'Or in 2003 as well as winning four Premier League Golden Boots in the five seasons between 2001/02 and 2005/06.
He might not have scored as many goals as others, but Henry's claim to be the best player to have ever played in the Premier League is a very real one.
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