With the surprising news that Aston Villa will recall League One top goalscorer Louie Barry from his loan at Stockport County on the second of January, it has blown the race for the third-tier golden boot wide open.
The Youngster’s 14 League goals have propelled the newly promoted side into the play-off places at the halfway stage of the third-tier season, and whilst he leads the goalscoring charts by four goals, the timing of the recall of the loan will mean that he will not be the top goalscorer in the third tier this year.
So what we want to know is who would you now make the frontrunner for the award, as the race for promotion heats up over the festive period, let us know in the comments!
In the meantime in no particular order, here are three players we believe have the potential to win this year’s Golden Boot:
1. Jay Stansfield – Birmingham City
Perhaps the obvious choice, the most expensive ever League One player by a countrymile, after joining Birmingham from Fulham in the summer for over £20 million pounds.
The youngster has bagged an impressive 11 goals in only 14 league matches since joining on deadline day, and is joint second in the race with Peterborough United’s Kwame Poku, who is set to miss the next month due to injury, so Stansfield may feel as if he has a huge chance to go clear in the race for the golden boot, especially with the sparkling form his club are in.
2. Richard Kone – Wycombe Wanderers
Perhaps one of the stories of the season. From playing in the ninth tier of English football last season to bagging nine goals in the league for the current leaders Wycombe, Richard Kone truly has been magnificent to watch all season.
The Ivorian’s goals have helped The Chairboys to have the best attacking output in the division by a considerable distance, averaging 2 goals a game. He will be hoping that his side can get out of their current form of one win in five matches in all competitions, and continue to use his physical presence to bully League One defenders.
3. Kyle Joseph – Blackpool
Whilst Blackpool have had a disappointing season so far, sitting 12th in the league after 20 matches, you can imagine that under Steve Bruce the aim will be for a play-off push in the second half of the season, and are currently unbeaten in four matches.
Joseph already has 7 goals in the league and will be pivotal to any promotion hopes The Seasiders have, and is enjoying his most prolific season in recent times, after a disappointing return of one league goal last season. Joseph has one of the best shot accuracy stats in the division, with 17 of his 34 shots this season finding the target.
So, there are our three favorites for the League One Golden Boot following Louie Barry’s departure, let us know in the comments your thoughts on how can win the award in May, we hope you have a great Christmas!
