The Unusual English Top Scorers outside the Premier League

 

English top scorers outside the Premier League are still hard to spot on, especially at the top level.

The 2024/25 season has just ended but left a remarkable note for English players abroad. Apart from Harry Kane’s success in lifting his first-ever silverware in his career, the English players also mark a new record by winning the top scorer award in not just one but two major leagues in Europe.

While Mo Salah thrived in the Premier League, Harry Kane and Mason Greenwood managed to shine abroad. The former Spurs star was awarded the Bundesliga Golden Boot in two consecutive seasons, whereas Greenwood won the top scorer award in Ligue 1 by notching 21 goals with Olympique Marseille in his season debut. He shared his accolade with PSG’s Ousmane Dembélé.

Such is a rare milestone carved in European football, as English strikers are not known to be prolific outside their home soil. Although Kane and Greenwood have had remarkable campaigns with such awards in hand, they are not the first and only ones who did it in history, especially when being referred to the leagues outside European top five. These forwards below snatched the similar awards as them. Their names deserved to be recognised due to their unusual achievements as the top scorers in foreign lands.

Herbert Potts (Beerschot)

He was the first English footballer who became the top scorer abroad. Potts did it in the early 20th century while playing for Belgium’s Beerschot AC. In his first season there in 1900/01, the Kent-born striker netted 26 goals. He even replicated his success in the following season with 16 goals.

Unfortunately, his goals did not help his team win the title. Beerschot only finished second on the table in 1901 and 4th in the final round in 1902 when the league changed format with an additional final round after the regular league phase. His team lost to Racing Club de Bruxelles in both seasons.

Interestingly, Potts never played for England. He was in fact capped four times with the Belgium national team for unofficial matches. The former Antwerp man played for Beerschot until the age of 27, when he hung up his boots. He returned to his home soil to work in the import business.

Maurice Bunyan (Racing Club de Bruxelles)

About 10 years later, another Englishman became the top scorer in Belgium's top division again. Maurice Bunyan was playing for Racing Club de Bruxelles when he won the award. Just like Potts, he was also the leading scorer in the league twice, in 1912 and 1914. Bunyan scored 35 goals and 28 goals, respectively, but his tally did not help his team win silverware either. They only finished third and 6th in the final standings. However, Bunyan helped them win the Belgian Cup in 1912.

The forward who joined the club in 1909 bagged 150 goals in 158 matches before moving to France with Stade Francais in 1923. He was also part of Great Britain's squad in the Antwerp 1920 Summer Olympics. Sadly, GBR’s campaign was short-lived as they were knocked out by Norway in the first round following their 3-1 loss.

Billy Lansdowne (Kalmar FF)

In the modern era, the first Englishman who won the Golden Boot award abroad was Billy Lansdowne. He was the former West Ham man in the early 1980s before switching sides to Charlton and Gillingham.

Lansdowne’s career really took off when he joined Sweden’s Kalmar FF in 1983. He became the top scorer in 1985 with 10 goals, the accolade which he shared with his teammate, Peter Karlsson, and Soren Borjesson. He also contributed to helping them become the runner-up in the final playoff round against Malmo, the best team in the country.

The Epping-born frontman was also instrumental in helping his side win the Swedish Cup in 1987. Kalmar FF thumped GAIS 2-0 in the final, and Lansdowne scored one of the goals. He stayed there till 1988 before going back to England to play for Leystone & Ilford and Dagenham FC. Landsdowne ended his career back in Sweden with Anderstorps IF in the lower division.

Bradley Wright-Phillips (New York Red Bulls)

The son of Arsenal star in the 1990s, Ian Wright, fled to MLS in 2013 following his frustrating career in England after failing to seal his place in Manchester City back in 2006. He signed for Southampton before eventually joining Plymouth Argyle, Charlton and Brentford in the second and third tiers of English football. Sadly, he was unable to thrive and make a significant impact for their campaign.

However, things turned around when he moved to New York Red Bulls. In his first season, he was able to help them win their first major title, the MLS Supporters’ Shield, plus reach the conference semifinal. In 2014, BWP, his nickname, was awarded MLS top scorer with 27 goals plus one assist, as well as contributing to his team’s campaign to the conference final.

The brother of former England international Shaun Wright-Phillips even replicated his success two years later. He registered 24 goals and four assists for NY Red Bulls and brought them to another Eastern Conference semifinal. The forward who turned down an offer to switch allegiance to Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago won two more Supporters’ Shields in 2015 and 2018 before leaving New York in 2019.

Gary Martin (KR, Valur, IBV)

The 34-year-old forward has achieved something more than Harry Kane, at a different level. Martin was awarded the top scorer in Iceland's top flight, Urvalsdeild, three times in 2013, 2014 and 2019.

The former Middlesbrough man had a loan spell in Hungary’s Ujpest before heading to Iceland in 2010. He finally made his mark three years later with KR Reykjavik, as he helped them win the league and won the joint top scorer award with 13 goals. Martin repeated his top form in 2014 by scoring another 13 goals to lead the top scorer table. Unfortunately, his team only finished third but managed to clinch the domestic cup title.

His third Urvalsdeild Golden Boot award was snatched in 2019, when he was playing for Valur and IBV. The Darlington-born striker notched up 14 times throughout the season but failed to save IBV from relegation. They were stuck at the bottom of the table.

Martin, who also had stints in Norway and Belgium's top flight with Lillestrom and Lokeren, respectively, is currently playing for Northern Premier League side Hebburn Town. They are competing in the seventh tier of English football.

Ashley Coffey (AC Oulu)

The most recent Englishman with a Golden Boot abroad besides Kane and Greenwood was Ashley Coffey. He was the joint top scorer in the Finnish top tier, Veikkausliiga, last season with 12 goals and two assists while playing for AC Oulu. He shared the awards with Nicaraguan international Jaime Moreno.

Coffey signed for Oulu in 2023 from Sweden’s second-tier side, AFC Eskilstuna. He soon made an impact for the Finnish side in his first season, as he was the club’s top scorer in 2023 before winning the Golden Shoe award.

Unfortunately, his goals were only enough to help his team avoid relegation. In 2024, AC Oulu only sat in ninth place in the regular league phase but managed to finish third in the relegation round to stay in the top division.

Prior to his venture in Finland’s top flight, the former Bradford City man was also working as a teacher at the International English School in Stockholm. He was a part-time player for Huddinge IF and IFK Haninge, which competed in the fourth and third tiers in Swedish football, respectively.

The 31-year-old frontman opted to leave Oulu in January 2025 and joined Shanghai Jianding Huilong. He is no longer playing in the top flight but in the second tier of the Chinese football system instead. He has netted six times plus provided one assist in eight matches in China League One.