European Golden Shoe Race: Goal-machine Harry Kane the man to catch

We head back to domestic action across Europe following the international break, with forwards across the continent eyeing more goals over a busy period of fixtures.

The European Golden Shoe was won by Erling Haaland last season, but it's Harry Kane who currently leads the way after an outstanding start to life at Bayern Munich.

Harry Kane	Bayern Munich	17 goals
Serhou Guirassy	Stuttgart	15 goals
Kylian Mbappe	PSG	13 goals
Erling Haaland	Manchester City	13 goals
Lautaro Martinez	Inter Milan	12 goals
Jude Bellingham	Real Madrid	10 goals
Mohamed Salah	Liverpool	10 goals
Lois Openda	RB Leipzig	9 goals

England skipper Kane loving Bundesliga life

Having lost Robert Lewandowski in 2022, Bayern Munich and Harry Kane looked to be the perfect fit and it's proven to be the case.

The former Tottenham man has been on the end of regular chances and has already scored 17 times in just 11 Bundesliga appearances.

England captain Kane – who has never won the Golden Shoe before – is 6/4 to score over 41.5 league goals for Bayern this season.

The 30-year-old twice scored 30 league goals in a season for Spurs, in 2017/18 and 2022/23, but is well on course to trump that tally in his first campaign with Bayern.

Surprise-package Guirassy shining in Germany

VfB Stuttgart find themselves third in the Bundesliga and one of the main reasons for their lofty position is striker Serhou Guirassy.

The Guinea international is with his seventh senior club but looks settled at the MHPArena, having impressed whilst on loan last season.

Guirassy scored 11 goals in 22 games last term but has 15 goals in nine appearances this time around and can be backed at 5/1 to be the Bundesliga's top scorer.

Goals continue to flow for Mbappe

Kylian Mbappe has scored over 25 league goals in the last three seasons with Paris Saint-Germain and he looks on course to break the 30 barrier this term.

The World Cup winner already has 13 to his name and, barring any major injury issues, is likely to be Ligue 1's top goalscorer in 2023/24.

Mbappe – who is 4/1 to win the 2024 Ballon d'Or – has scored two or more goals in a game on five occasions this season.

Haaland can close the gap

Haaland is looking to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Lewandowski as a back-to-back Golden Shoe winner.

It's fair to say that the Norwegian has not looked as lethal as last season, but his supply line is set to improve in the new year.

The likely return of Kevin De Bruyne in January could be significant to both his goal hopes and City's trophy chances.

Martinez can lead Inter to the title

Fifth on the list is Lautaro Martinez, who has a goal-a-game record so far this season and his 12 strikes have helped Inter Milan to the top of Serie A.

The Argentinian has never previously scored more than 21 in a single Serie A campaign, but this could be the season to eclipse that total and help Inter to success, with Simone Inzaghi's men 8/13 to claim the league title.

No stopping superstar Bellingham

Kevin Phillips was the last Englishman to win the European Golden Shoe with Sunderland back in 1999/2000, but that could end this season.

Not only is Harry Kane leading the way, but Jude Bellingham is also in contention after a brilliant start to his career at Real Madrid.

The midfielder, set to star for the Three Lions at next year's Euros, has bagged 10 times in 11 La Liga appearances this term.

Salah continues to fire at Anfield

Despite talk over the summer that he would move to the Saudi Pro League, Mo Salah has put that speculation to one side and helped a new-look Liverpool side make an impressive start to the season.

The Egyptian has won the Premier League Golden Boot on three occasions and has already reached double figures in this campaign.

Salah is available at 5/1 to finish top of the English top-flight goal standings again in 2023/24.

Openda the latest Belgian star

Following in the footsteps of the likes of Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard, Lois Openda is the latest Belgian forward to find himself towards the top of the goalscoring charts.

The 23-year-old moved to the Bundesliga in the summer in a €43million switch to RB Leipzig from French outfit Lens.

A brace in a 6-0 win over Cologne in late October has helped Openda to nine goals in 11 league displays.