Sunderland cheat Dwight Gayle and Ayoze Perez out of Premier League goals record

When it comes to Premier League goals, it doesn’t take a genus to work out that Newcastle have struggled this season.

With only three games to go, the joint Newcastle top scorers are Dwight Gayle and Ayoze Perez with five PL goals each.

After them come Joselu with four, then Lascelles and Ritchie with three each.

Top of Rafa’s priorities in the summer will be adding more goals to his team.

However, when it comes to individuals as top scorers in a season, the Newcastle pair have already passed the current record holders when it comes to lowest ever in a Premier League season.

This season Perez and Gayle are the lowest top scorers for any Premier League club,  with Charlie Austin and Dusan Tadic at Southampton only having seven each, with Watford (Doucoure) and Swansea (Jordan Ayew) also having top PL scorers with only seven goals.

Overall in the Premier League era though, they are all left trailing by our friends down the road.

Back in 2005/06, the top scorer had only three goals!

Martin Tyler providing these stats in his excellent weekly question and answer for Sky Sports, three other clubs having had a top scorer with only four goals:

2005/06 Sunderland – Three goals for Liam Lawrence, Dean Whitehead, Tommy Miller and Anthony Le Tallec

2013/14 Hull City – Four goals for Nikica Jelavic and Shane Long

1997/98 Wimbledon – Four goals each for Michael Hughes, Jason Euell, Carl Leaburn, Carl Cort and Efan Ekoku

2007/08 Derby County – Four goals for Kenny Miller

As for Newcastle United, in Sir Bobby Robson’s first full season, Carl Cort and Nobby Solano finished joint top with only six Premier League goals each.

Whilst in 1997/98 it was John Barnes who was top for Newcastle with six PL goals as well.

In each of those two seasons, Alan Shearer was out injured much of the time.