Didier Drogba and Wayne Rooney are the early frontrunners in Betfair’s new Premier League top goalscorer market, with last season’s top two kicking off at 5.8 and 6.2 respectively to claim the Golden Boot.

The main goal threats of Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City are all next in line, with Fernando Torres 8.2, Robin van Persie 11.5 and Carlos Tevez 13.5, however the last four winners have all been playing for either Chelsea or Manchester United.

While some prices are likely to improve as the market grows, there are already some intriguing outsiders, with Arsenal newcomer Marouane Chamakh 30.0 and Manchester United’s Mexican World Cup star Javier Hernandez 60.0. No top-flight newcomer has taken the honour since Kevin Phillips in 2000 though.

Away from the teams likely to challenge for either the title or Champions League qualifications, one of the contenders that many will find tempting is 20.0 prospect Darren Bent, who outstandingly scored 24 league goals in his debut campaign with Sunderland.

His supporters will argue that surely he can only get better now that he is settled, especially as the Black Cats are looking to improve the service he receives, but his Charlton strike rate dropped from 18 in his first season to 13 in his second, so perhaps he sets the bar unobtainably high.

The other member of last year’s 20-plus club we’ve neglected to mention is Frank Lampard. The consistent double-figure hitter is 30.0 to top the charts for the first time.

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