Mohamed Salah is in the form of his life and on course to break a Premier League record for the highest number of direct goal involvements in a single 38-match season.
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry managed 44 in an unforgettable 2002/03 campaign; a feat that was matched by Erling Haaland two seasons ago.
Yet Liverpool’s brilliant forward currently leads the way with 21 goals and 13 assists this season, and is now just 11 contributions away from making top-flight history, with 15 matches left to play.
Salah is chasing the Golden Boot and Playmaker prizes, while at the other end of the pitch the race is heating up nicely to see who claims the Golden Glove for the most clean sheets.
Here, Adrian Clarke takes a closer look at the players currently challenging for these coveted awards.
Who’s on course to challenge for the Golden Boot?
All four of the leading contenders to finish 2024/25 as the leading scorer are in tremendous form as we head towards the business end of the season.
Only four goals separate the prolific quartet, so Salah is by no means a shoo-in to land the prize.
Chris Wood has great momentum, netting six goals in his last five Premier League appearances for Nottingham Forest including a hat-trick against Brighton & Hove Albion last time out.
Golden Boot race 24/25
| Player | Total goals |
| Mohamed Salah | 21 |
|---|---|
| Erling Haaland | 19 |
| Alexander Isak | 17 |
| Chris Wood | 17 |
Wood is this season’s surprise package and would win the Golden Boot for the first time.
Another chasing this award for the first time is Alexander Isak.
The Newcastle United striker and Manchester City's Haaland are in great form too, registering five goals in their last five matches, while the ever-consistent Salah, has four strikes in his last five appearances.
All have scored penalties this season, but Salah’s six spot-kick goals have propelled him to the top of the charts.
If you took penalties out of the equation, we would still have the same top four, but in a different order.
Golden Boot rivals' goals excluding penalties 24/25
| Player | Goals (excl. pens) |
| Erling Haaland | 18 |
|---|---|
| Alexander Isak | 16 |
| Mohamed Salah | 15 |
| Chris Wood | 14 |
Isak has played for the least amount of time, 322 minutes fewer than ever-present Haaland, but each contender has stayed fit for the bulk of this campaign, making a minimum of 22 appearances.
It is perhaps surprising to see that Haaland, chasing a third successive Golden Boot, is the least ruthless when it comes to finishing opportunities.
Forest striker Wood leads the way with a 37.78 per cent conversion rate.
Golden Boot rivals' conversion rates 24/25
| Shot conversion % | Big chance conversion % | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Wood | 37.78% | Isak | 58.33% |
| Isak | 26.56% | Salah | 53.33% |
| Salah | 23.33% | Wood | 52.38% |
| Haaland | 20.65% | Haaland | 47.06% |
Swedish star Isak is the most clinical when it comes to despatching big chances, averaging a 58.33 per cent success rate.
All four strikers have a tough schedule ahead, but with home matches to come against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Southampton in the coming weeks, Salah looks well placed to extend his advantage at the top.
Salah's next six fixtures
Haaland's next six fixtures
Isak's next six fixtures
Wood's next six fixtures
Salah could break a longstanding record set by Andrew Cole 31 years ago having scored in 17 of his 23 starts.
Cole scored in 26 different Premier League matches for Newcastle in 1993/94, although that was in a 42-game season.
Salah must net in 10 of Liverpool's final 15 fixtures to eclipse that feat in four fewer appearances.
How is the race for this season’s Playmaker award looking?
Fulham left-back Antonee Robinson is in the frame to become the first full-back to claim the most assists in a Premier League campaign.
The USA international is currently in joint-second place on 10 alongside Bukayo Saka, and three behind the irrepressible Salah on 13.
Playmaker award race 24/25
| Player | Assists |
| Mohamed Salah | 13 |
|---|---|
| Antonee Robinson | 10 |
| Bukayo Saka | 10 |
| Anthony Elanga, Jacob Murphy, Mikkel Damsgaard | 8 |
Saka’s long-term injury means Robinson is the closest challenger, and is playing well enough to close the gap having produced six assists in his last nine top-flight appearances.
Robinson's 10 assists also means he could match, and even surpass, the club record 11 that Steed Malbanque produced. While the left-back is also threating the 13 assists Alexander-Arnold recorded in 2019/20, the most of any defender in a campaign.
Robinson is by some distance the best crosser in the division right now.
Nobody else can come close to the number of successful open-play crosses the Fulham defender delivers, currently 11 clear of Tottenham Hotspur's Pedro Porro in second, with 24.
Most successful open-play crosses 24/25
| Player | Crosses |
| Antonee Robinson | 35 |
|---|---|
| Pedro Porro | 24 |
| Trent Alexander-Arnold | 20 |
| Pervis Estupinan, Victor Kristiansen | 19 |
Salah’s invention this season has been extraordinarily high.
He has already matched his personal best for assists in a season from 2021/22, and playing better than ever, he could even surpass the Premier League record of 20, set by Henry (2002/03) and Man City's Kevin De Bruyne (2019/20).
Eight more assists in 15 matches is the target required.
Salah has produced a pair of assists in three away fixtures already this season, at Manchester United, West Ham United and Spurs, and he made need another brace or two to come close.
If Salah walks away with the Golden Boot and Playmaker awards, he will replicate his achievement of three years ago.
That season he scored 23 and made 13 goals, so his efforts in the current campaign are sure to better those numbers.
Only three other players in Premier League history led the way for goals and assists in the same season - Cole, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Harry Kane.
Players to have scored and assisted most goals in the same season
| Season | Player | Goals | Assists |
| 93/94 | Cole | 34 | 13 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 98/99 | Hasselbaink | 18 | 13 |
| 20/21 | Kane | 23 | 14 |
| 21/22 | Salah | 23 | 13 |
If you are looking at someone making a run from deep to land the Playmaker award, Forest’s Anthony Elanga is the leading candidate.
He has six assists in his last six appearances.
Newcastle’s Jacob Murphy is also in red-hot form, supplying seven assists in his last nine matches.
If either maintains this level, they might catch Salah. There is also an outside chance that Saka could put himself into the picture when he returns from a hamstring injury, possibly in March.
Who is favourite to collect the Golden Glove?
We have two surprise leaders in the race to win this year’s Golden Glove.
Forest’s Matz Sels has an impressive 10 clean sheets already, with Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford just behind him on nine.
Last season's Golden Glove winner David Raya sits on eight, and will be hoping to climb above both challengers during Arsenal’s run-in.
Golden Glove race 24/25
| Player | Clean sheets |
| Matz Sels | 10 |
|---|---|
| Jordan Pickford | 9 |
| David Raya | 8 |
| Dean Henderson, Andre Onana | 7 |
When you compare their stats, Belgian keeper Sels is on course to be a worthy winner.
Forest's No 1 has been outstanding and been by far the busiest of the top-five contenders as he boasts the best save percentage in 2024/25.
Golden Glove rivals' goalkeeping stats 24/25
| Saves | Save % | Goals conc. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sels | 75 | Sels | 73.27% | Raya | 22 |
| Pickford | 68 | Raya | 68.75% | Sels | 27 |
| Henderson | 67 | Pickford | 65.33% | Pickford | 28 |
| Onana | 59 | Henderson | 62.16% | Henderson | 30 |
| Raya | 59 | Onana | 55.71% | Onana | 34 |
Crystal Palace’s Dean Henderson has prevented the most goals among this group, with 4.4, according to Opta Analyst, with Sels next in line on 2.4 alongside Pickford.
Looking at the upcoming fixtures, Sels has perhaps the toughest run of matches.
Arsenal No 1 Raya will certainly eye up their next two hames and view them as clean sheet opportunities against Leicester City and West Ham.
By the time the Gunners travel to the City Ground on 26 February, he would love to be into double figures for the season.
Sels' next six fixtures
Pickford's next six fixtures
Raya's next six fixtures
With the business end of 2024/25 now upon us, it will be fascinating to see who raises their game to even higher levels.
Salah and Sels might be top of the pile right now, but all three Golden awards are still very much up for grabs.
