Will Lankshear has scored 13 league goals, and that’s 43.3% of everything Middlesbrough have netted. At 21, he leads the Championship top scorers 2026-27 chart by five goals. The Golden Boot race is already taking shape, with big names and young talents chasing him. Even the best strikers start somewhere, and Harry Kane’s early loan spells in the lower leagues show how far a goalscorer can go. Here’s where the race stands, based on figures updated on 1 November 2026.
Championship Top Scorers 2026-27: The Current Table
The season began on 14 August 2026, and the last round is planned for 1 May 2027. Teams play 46 games, so there’s a long way to go. Totals change every weekend, so treat this as a snapshot.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Will Lankshear | Middlesbrough | 13 |
| 2 | Andri Gudjohnsen | Blackburn Rovers | 8 |
| 3 | Cyle Larin | Southampton | 7 |
| 3 | Jarrod Bowen | West Ham | 7 |
| 5 | August Priske | Birmingham City | 6 |
| 5 | Fer Lopez | Wolves | 6 |
| 5 | Jack Moylan | Cardiff City | 6 |
Six more players sit on five goals each. They are Jimmy-Jay Morgan of West Brom, Kieffer Moore of Wrexham and Konstantinos Mavropanos of West Ham. The others are Mohamed Toure of Norwich, Patrick Bamford of Sheffield United and Sam Dalby of Bolton.
Will Lankshear: The Early Leader
Lankshear is the story of the season so far. The 21-year-old Middlesbrough striker has scored every 80 minutes on average. His 13 goals make up 43.3% of his team’s total, which shows how much Boro lean on him.
The pace is rare. A striker who scores this often early on has to keep it up through winter, when pitches get heavy and defences get tighter. So the real test comes in December and January.
Middlesbrough’s attack has support around him. Amario Cozier-Duberry has three goals and five assists, and Tommy Conway has four assists. That service helps Lankshear stay in the box where he’s most dangerous.
The Chasing Pack
Behind Lankshear, the field is wide open. Five goals separate first and second, but several players are within reach of the pack.
Andri Gudjohnsen, Blackburn
The 24-year-old Iceland striker has eight goals, and they make up 42.1% of Blackburn’s total. That’s a heavy load. Dapo Afolayan has four goals beside him, so Blackburn have a second option.
Cyle Larin, Southampton
Larin has seven goals at age 31. The Canada forward brings experience, and he scores about once every 104 minutes. His strength is steady, repeatable finishing, which is exactly what a long season rewards.
Jarrod Bowen, West Ham
Bowen stands out as the biggest name in the division. The England winger has seven goals and five assists. His output makes West Ham a real threat, though only about 21% of the team’s goals come from him, which shows they have other options.
August Priske, Fer Lopez and Jack Moylan
Each has six goals. Priske, a 22-year-old Dane, plays for Birmingham. Lopez, a 22-year-old Spaniard, scores for Wolves. And Moylan, the 25-year-old Ireland international, has netted 31.6% of Cardiff’s goals.
Players to Watch in the Golden Boot Race
Some names could climb fast. The strong form of a few players, plus the size of their goal share, makes them ones to follow.
- Mohamed Toure, Norwich: Five goals at age 22, with a goal every 91 minutes.
- Jimmy-Jay Morgan, West Brom: A 20-year-old with five goals and four assists.
- Kieffer Moore, Wrexham: The 34-year-old has five goals, a third of his team’s total.
- Patrick Bamford, Sheffield United: A 33-year-old with five goals and plenty of experience.
- Richard Kone, QPR: He scored the season’s only hat-trick so far, in a 5-0 win over Swansea.
Kone’s three goals came at 2, 9 and 15 minutes on 24 October. In other words, the game was effectively won inside a quarter of an hour. Those bursts can shift a Golden Boot race quickly.
Young Talents Leading the Way
The youth movement stands out this year. Lankshear is 21, Morgan is 20 and Toure is 22. Bobby Clark, 21, has three goals for Derby, and Amin Nabizada, 19, has three for Watford.
That trend is good news for English football. The Championship gives young strikers a regular place to prove themselves. As a result, the division keeps producing players who later move up.
It’s the same path Harry Kane took. He built his game on loan at lower-league clubs, and he’s now England’s record scorer. For more on his journey, see this Harry Kane biography.
Who Creates the Goals?
Goals need service, and the assist chart shows where it comes from. Rio Cardines of Bristol City leads with six assists. The 20-year-old from Trinidad and Tobago is a real find.
Next come Finn Azaz of Southampton, Amario Cozier-Duberry of Middlesbrough and Jarrod Bowen, each with five. So Bowen’s name sits in both charts, which makes him one of the most complete attackers in the league.
Middlesbrough and Southampton both appear in these lists, so both sides clearly share the creative load.
What to Expect Next
The Golden Boot race will tighten and loosen as the months pass. Injuries, transfers and fixture runs all have an effect. January is also a key moment, because clubs can sign new strikers.
Lankshear holds the lead for now. Even so, five goals is a gap that can close in three weeks. Gudjohnsen, Larin and Bowen all have the quality to chase him down.
One more detail matters. The stats here count league goals only, so play-off goals don’t count towards the total. That’s worth remembering when the final table is set in May.
How the Golden Boot Is Decided
The Championship’s Golden Boot goes to the player with the most league goals. Play-off goals don’t count, which is worth knowing. Teams play 46 games each, so the race is a marathon rather than a sprint.
That length changes how strikers approach the season. A hot start helps, but injuries and form dips can swing things. So the player who stays fit through the winter often finishes on top. Of course, a few lucky bounces help too.
Because the season runs until 1 May 2027, there’s still time for plenty of change. Early leaders don’t always win. In other words, Lankshear’s lead is a strong start rather than a guarantee.
Who Relies on One Striker?
Some teams lean heavily on one scorer. Lankshear’s 43.3% share at Middlesbrough is the highest of the leading players. Gudjohnsen is close at Blackburn on 42.1%. Tyreece Campbell has four goals for Charlton, which is 36.4% of the team’s total.
Kieffer Moore, at 33.3% for Wrexham, and Jack Moylan, at 31.6% for Cardiff, also carry a big load. That creates risk. If the main striker is injured, those teams could struggle. So depth matters.
Other clubs spread the goals around. West Ham’s top scorers include Bowen, Mavropanos, Piroe, Soucek, Kante and Mukasa. As a result, no single injury hurts them as much.
Big Names in the Championship
The division has an unusual number of famous names this season. West Ham, Wolves and Southampton are all there, and each has strong attackers.
- West Ham: Jarrod Bowen has seven, Konstantinos Mavropanos five, and Tomas Soucek three.
- Wolves: Fer Lopez has six, with Adam Armstrong and Raul Jimenez on three each.
- Southampton: Cyle Larin has seven, Kuryu Matsuki four and Finn Azaz three.
Raul Jimenez, at 35, is the oldest of the group. Even so, he scores once every 116 minutes. That kind of rate shows that class lasts.
The Season Timeline
The season started on 14 August 2026, and it ends on 1 May 2027. That’s a long run, with plenty of key dates in between. Winter fixtures come thick and fast, and the January window gives clubs a chance to add goals.
So the Golden Boot race has several chapters. The early leaders set the pace, the winter tests their form, and the spring decides the winner. Even a player on 13 goals now needs to stay fit and sharp to hold on.
Key Takeaways
- Leader: Will Lankshear of Middlesbrough has 13 goals.
- Closest rivals: Andri Gudjohnsen has eight, and Cyle Larin and Jarrod Bowen have seven.
- Goal share: Lankshear scores 43.3% of Middlesbrough’s goals.
- Hat-trick: Richard Kone of QPR scored the first one, on 24 October.
- Top assists: Rio Cardines of Bristol City has six.
- Season end: The final round is planned for 1 May 2027.
FAQs
Who is the Championship top scorer in 2026-27?
Will Lankshear of Middlesbrough leads with 13 league goals as of 1 November 2026.
Who is second in the Golden Boot race?
Andri Gudjohnsen of Blackburn Rovers is second with eight goals.
Has anyone scored a hat-trick this season?
Yes, Richard Kone scored one for QPR in a 5-0 win over Swansea on 24 October.
Who has the most assists?
Rio Cardines of Bristol City leads with six assists.
When does the Championship season end?
The final round of matches is planned for 1 May 2027.
Conclusion
The Championship top scorers 2026-27 race is led by a young striker who’s scoring at a remarkable rate. Lankshear leads by five, but a deep chasing pack keeps the table tense. Keep an eye on Gudjohnsen, Larin and Bowen through the winter. As Kane’s path shows, today’s Championship scorers may become tomorrow’s stars.
