Dimitar Berbatov, Carlos Tevez and Other Worried Top 6 Marksmen

Top scorer. The Golden Shoe. El Pichichi.

Usually, the status of banging in more goals than anyone else is an announcement of a player's arrival or a confirmation of their stardom. Clubs generally have to worry about holding on to their own respective chief marksmen over the course of a summer.

But for the players at the top six clubs who scored more than their teammates in the Premier League last season, there is plenty of reason for them each to be approaching this season with trepidation.

The uncertainty surrounding the futures of 2010-11's joint-top scorers, Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tevez, is an odd situation, but they are not the only ones with things to worry about.

Dimitar Berbatov (Manchester United, 20 Premier League Goals)

Surely the man who scores the most goals in a season for the champions must be an instant hero, right? 

Not in the case of the mercurial Bulgarian. Despite bagging a five-goal haul against Blackburn and netting a hat trick against Liverpool en route to topping the scoring charts, Berbatov remains a divisive figure.

Many see his ransacking of Rovers and as evidence that he is not much more than a flat-track bully. His match-winning treble against an Anfield side at its lowest ebb for years may have included an excellent overhead kick, but even that was eclipsed by Wayne Rooney's sublime effort against Manchester City later in the season. 

The enigmatic forward's omission from the squad for the Champions League final and benching for the Community Shield betray how far he appears to have slipped down the Old Trafford pecking order. Not just behind Javier Hernandez, but Danny Welbeck and even Michael Owen too. 

The 30-year-old is sure to get a fair amount of game time again this season, but he will have to repeat or even better his antics of the last campaign if he is to earn a new contract.

Florent Malouda (Chelsea, 13 Premier League Goals)

The man nicknamed "Flo-Mo" has been re-dubbed "Slo-Mo" by an impatient contingent of Chelsea fans. He may have scored more than either Didier Drogba or Nicolas Anelka in the league last term, but there are those who expect a lot more craft from the Frenchman.

Drogba's count of 15 assists was three-times higher than Malouda's. 

In fairness, dazzling wing play has rarely been his MO at Chelsea, a team which has rarely strayed from the narrow template set out by Jose Mourinho (Arjen Robben and Damien Duff being notable exceptions).

Malouda has suffered in the eyes of many as a result of his more central role in Carlo Ancelotti's midfield diamond, enabling Ashley Cole to provide much of the width. 

Now, with the arrival of Andre Villas-Boas, 31-year-old Malouda is perhaps one of the Blues' regulars with the most to lose under the new coach.

Whether the Portuguese boss will attempt to accommodate both Fernando Torres and Drogba in his attack, replicate the attacking 4-3-3 formation that brought so much success at Porto or devise another approach—not to mention the potential arrival of Luka Modric—will have a big say in how big a role Malouda plays this season.

Carlos Tevez (Manchester City, 20 Premier League Goals)

Being a "wantaway" footballer must be a frustrating place to be, especially one seemingly without a potential club to which he can make good his escape. It is an even stranger situation for Tevez, who ended last season as joint-top scorer in the league.

In fact, if you follow the World Cup Golden Boot model, Tevez is top dog by virtue of his six assists to Berbatov's four last term. 

After his desired move back to South America failed to materialise, there have been rumblings from Italy about a potential move to Inter Milan. But on Monday the striker returned to training at Carrington, and City remain stubborn over the price and terms of his sale. 

After excelling in his native Argentina, Brazil and England—winning league titles in each and both continental championships available in that time—who would bet against him being a hit in Serie A too? 

Equally, should he remain in Manchester after the transfer window closes then he can still be relied upon to run himself into the ground for the cause, especially with compatriot Sergio Aguero alongside him.

After all, he expressed his desire to leave last December, and yet he still scored 11 league goals after that as he helped fire City into the Champions League.

Robin Van Persie (Arsenal, 18 Premier League Goals)

The Dutchman's blistering second half of the season was largely overshadowed by yet another season ending without silverware for Arsenal. Nevertheless, 18 league goals since the turn of the year is a remarkable return by anyone's standards. 

Were it not for his woeful record with injuries, the supremely technical Van Persie would be universally acclaimed as one of the world's top forwards.

Just as well for the Gunners, as at the moment it looks like they will be starting the season with only new boy Gervinho as backup, following Nicklas Bendtner announcing his desire to leave.

Marouane Chamakh's initially bright form tailed off virtually overnight in his debut season at the club last term, but the Moroccan will need to offer more this term if he is to be considered a viable option. 

Cesc Fabregas's likely departure would see RvP take the captain's armband on a permanent basis, with even more creative burden shunted his way should Samir Nasri also leave.

All that added responsibility may or may not heap more weight upon his shoulders psychologically, but will certainly add strain to his fragile ligaments and hamstrings as he strives to compensate for the loss of the Spain playmaker.  

Rafael Van Der Vaart (Tottenham Hotspur, 13 Premier League Goals)

Tottenham's £8 million acquisition from Real Madrid last August was widely hailed as the signing of the season. The Dutchman lived up to his billing with 13 league goals, including three across two games against local rivals Arsenal. 

However, he was dogged by injury problems throughout his first season in England. He only finished half of his 28 league appearances, with just a handful of those withdrawals coming in the closing moments of matches.

These problems may help explain why Real Madrid were happy to let such a talented player leave for a knockdown price. 

While he has stated his conviction that playmaker Luka Modric will still be at the club come September, the prospect of losing a teammate with whom he has struck up such a productive relationship with must be a concern.

Added to that there is also the absence of Champions League football at White Hart Lane this season, another factor that may add to the midfielder's disillusionment and heighten worries that he may suffer from second season syndrome.

Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool, 13 Premier League Goals)

The ever-industrious Kuyt is the third Dutchman to end last season as the highest scorer at a top-six club.

Incidentally, the highest-placed club with an Englishman topping their own scoring charts last term was Aston Villa, for whom Darren Bent scored nine. 

Kuyt's campaign only truly hit the heights after January, following the departure of Fernando Torres and the arrival of Luis Suarez.

The versatile attacker scored nine goals in his final dozen league games of the season, greatly aided by the creative genius of Suarez and the injury troubles of another mid-season arrival, Andy Carroll.

The burgeoning partnership between those two winter acquisitions would perhaps not have been such a threat to Kuyt's place in the team were it not for Kenny Dalglish spending big on a glut of fresh talent to make the competition for midfield places one which is sure to be hard-fought. 

None of Stewart Downing, Charlie Adam or Jordan Henderson will be resting on their laurels after each making their big moves, while Steven Gerrard, Raul Meireles and Lucas Leiva can all lay claim to first-team places.

At the age of 31, Kuyt has a job on hands trying to compete against all those 20-somethings this season.