Dragon Rankings
Who's the best forwards in English football right now? Our ranking weighs the things each position is actually judged on, from real match data. Premier League down to League Two. Every score breaks down so you can see the working.
Top 10 forwards
No rated players for this filter yet. The ranking needs at least 450 minutes played, and U21 cuts can be thin in smaller divisions.
How the Dragon Score works
Every player is scored 0-100 on a weighted blend of the metrics that matter for their position, all per 90 minutes so a regular starter isn't flattered over a sub. Each metric is measured against an elite benchmark: hit the benchmark and you score 100 on that component, half it and you score 50.
Forwards weighting: goals (42%), match rating (20%), chances created (13%), assists (15%), shots (10%).
Minimum 450 minutes to qualify. Match rating is Sportmonks' per-game player rating, averaged across the season. This is an editorial weighting of what matters, not a claim of objective truth, and it deliberately can't capture everything a player does. Built on Sportmonks data, refreshed nightly. Season xG is shown alongside goals (with the goals-minus-xG finishing figure in brackets), and on each player page, but it stays out of the score itself, which weights the on-pitch actions a player controls. Where Sportmonks' xG looks incomplete for a season, we hide it rather than show a figure we can't stand behind.