The Championship has seen some iconic forwards down the years and some players who instantly remind you of the second tier. From Teemu Pukki to Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, there have been plenty of natural goalscorers over the last 20 seasons, with many going on to win the Golden Boot.
But who have been the previous winners of the end-of-season award? Here is a list of every Championship Golden Boot winner since 2004/05, with a detailed look at the last 10 recipients of the prize.
Season
Player
Club(s)
Goals
2004/05
Nathan Ellington
Wigan Athletic
24
2005/06
Marlon King
Watford
22
2006/07
Jamie Cureton
Colchester United
23
2007/08
Sylvan Ebanks-Blake
Wolves
23
2008/09
Sylvan Ebanks-Blake
Wolves
25
2009/10
Peter Whittingham
Cardiff City
20
2010/11
Danny Graham
Watford
24
2011/12
Rickie Lambert
Southampton
27
2012/13
Glenn Murray
Crystal Palace
30
2013/14
Ross McCormack
Leeds United
28
2014/15
Daryl Murphy
Ipswich Town
27
2015/16
Andre Gray
Brentford/Burnley
25
2016/17
Chris Wood
Leeds United
27
2017/18
Matej Vydra
Derby County
21
2018/19
Teemu Pukki
Norwich City
29
2019/20
Aleksandar Mitrovic
Fulham
26
2020/21
Ivan Toney
Brentford
31
2021/22
Aleksandar Mitrovic
Fulham
43
2022/23
Chuba Akpom
Middlesbrough
28
2023/24
Sammie Szmodics
Blackburn Rovers
27
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1 ByCharlie SmithFeb 14, 2025 10 Daryl Murphy (Ipswich Town) 2014/15 (27 goals)
During the 2014/15 season, Bournemouth and Watford secured automatic promotion, scoring more than 90 goals en route to the Premier League.
However, the top scorer that season was Daryl Murphy of Ipswich Town, who scored six more than Troy Deeney and Blackburn’s Jordan Rhodes. The Tractor Boys finished in the play-off places but lost out to rivals Norwich City.
9 Andre Gray (Brentford, Burnley) 2015/16 (25 goals)
In his prime, Andre Gray had electric pace and was clinical in front of goal, and scored two of his 25 goals in 2015/16 for Brentford.
He left the Bees for Burnley towards the end of the transfer window for a club-record fee and instantly repaid the faith shown in him by those at Turf Moor.
The Clarets won the title and finished on 93 points, with Gray scoring 25 times in total, four more than Abel Hernandez and Ross McCormack.
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ByRoss KilvingtonFeb 3, 2025 8 Chris Wood (Leeds United) 2016/17 (27 goals)
New Zealand international Chris Wood found a home at Leeds United and starred during the 2016/17 campaign, but the Whites finished just outside the play-off places.
He scored 27 of Leeds’ 61 goals under Garry Monk that season, four more than Dwight Gayle of Newcastle and Glenn Murray of Brighton, with those two sides winning automatic promotion.
7 Matej Vydra (Derby County) 2017/18 (21 goals)
Matej Vydra scored the lowest number of goals to pick up the Golden Boot award over the last 10 years, with 21 goals in 40 Championship appearances for Derby County in 2017/18.
The Czech forward mainly played as a second striker under Gary Rowett, with the Rams losing out in the play-offs to Fulham.
6 Teemu Pukki (Norwich City) 2018/19 (29 goals)
Daniel Farke built one of the best Championship teams ever seen in 2018/19, with Teemu Pukki firing Norwich City to the Premier League.
The Finnish forward was clinical in front of goal and scored 29 goals in the 2018/19 season. Pukki also netted 10 times for his country in 2019 in a real purple patch of his career.
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ByCharlie SmithMay 23, 2024 5 Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham) 2019/20 (26 goals)
In truth, Aleksandar Mitrovic was always going to be too good for the Championship, and after netting 11 times in the Premier League the year before, it wasn’t a surprise that he was the Golden Boot winner in 2019/20.
Fulham didn’t win automatic promotion, but they did go straight back up via the play-offs, with Mitrovic setting up Joe Bryan in the Wembley final against Brentford.
4 Ivan Toney (Brentford) 2020/21 (31 goals)
It is rare to see a player break the 30-goal mark in the Championship, but that is what Ivan Toney managed to do for Brentford in 2020/21.
The Bees, under Thomas Frank, won promotion via the play-offs, and Toney’s 31 goals and 10 assists ensured a third-place finish. Toney wasn’t done there, though, and found the back of the net against Bournemouth in the play-off semi-final and against Swansea City at Wembley.
3 Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham) 2021/22 (43 goals)
A record-breaking campaign in 2021/22 saw Mitrovic make the list once again, with the Serbian netting an incredible 43 times in 44 appearances, while also registering seven assists that year.
The powerful striker netted two hat-tricks and nine braces as Fulham won the title, scoring 106 goals in the process. Mitrovic finished a whopping 14 goals clear of Dominic Solanke at Bournemouth.
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ByCharlie SmithMay 17, 2025 2 Chuba Akpom (Middlesbrough) 2022/23 (28 goals)
Middlesbrough were the second-highest scorers in the Championship in 2022/23 but failed to go up, with top goalscorer Chuba Akpom leaving the Riverside for Ajax.
Akpom scored seven more than Viktor Gyokeres of Coventry City and won the Player of the Year award as well as the Golden Boot, in what has proven to be the prime of his career.
1 Sammie Szmodics (Blackburn Rovers) 2023/24 (27 goals)
An attacking midfielder who played for a Blackburn Rovers side battling relegation in 2023/24, Sammie Szmodics somehow managed to score 27 goals for Rovers.
Without him, those at Ewood Park would have surely been relegated to League One. Szmodics sealed Blackburn’s survival with a brace at champions Leicester City on the final day, seeing his second-tier tally hit 27. He left months later for Ipswich Town.
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