5 greatest players with most hat-tricks in a single Premier League season

Scoring a hat-trick in the Premier League is an incredible achievement. Ever since Eric Cantona claimed the first hat-trick of the rebranded Premier League era, 348 such achievements have been added to the list. Players rarely score multiple hat-tricks in a single season, unless they are goalscorers of the highest caliber.

Few legendary players have scored more than one hat-trick in a Premier League season

Les Ferdinand was the first player to score multiple hat-tricks in a single Premier League season, as he scored two in the space of two days in the 1992-93 season. However, his record has been shattered on multiple occasions since.

Former Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero currently holds the record for the highest number of hat-tricks in the Premier League, with 12. Does he hold the record for most number of hat-tricks in a single season though?

The following list looks at some legendary goalscorers who managed to score the highest number of hat-tricks in a single Premier League campaign.

Note: Only footballers with a minimum of three overall hat-tricks in the Premier League have been considered for this list.

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#5 Frank Lampard - 1

Chelsea v Wigan Athletic - Premier League

Frank Lampard is one of the greatest goalscoring midfielders of this era. He found the back of the net 177 times in the Premier League, which places him fifth on the all-time top scorers list. The only midfielder in the top 15 on that list, Lampard scored three hat-tricks in his time in the English top flight.

However, the legendary midfielder scored three hat-tricks across three separate seasons. His first was against Derby County in the 2007-08 campaign, followed by the 2009-10 season against Aston Villa. Lampard's third and final Premier League hat-trick was against Bolton Wanderers in October 2011.

Honorable mentions (single hat-trick in a season): Teddy Sheringham, Jimmy Hasselbaink, Dwight Yorke, Didier Drogba, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Jamie Vardy

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#4 Thierry Henry - 2

Arsenal v Leeds United - FA Cup Third Round

Former Arsenal forward Thierry Henry was not only an incredible goalscorer, but picked up a ridiculous number of assists along the way too. In fact, the Frenchman holds the record for the joint-highest number of assists in a single Premier League season with 20.

Henry also won four Golden Boot awards, the highest in Premier League history. In terms of scoring hat-tricks, Henry managed an incredible eight during his time in the Premier League.

The Arsenal legend has scored two hat-tricks in a season on three separate occasions - in 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06. His best pair of hat-tricks was in April 2004, where he scored seven goals in a week. Henry scored three against Liverpool in a 4-2 win and followed this up by scoring four goals against Leeds United the following week.

Honorable mentions (two hat-tricks per season): Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler, Wayne Rooney, Andy Cole, Les Ferdinand.

#3 Sergio Aguero - 3

Manchester City v Crystal Palace - Premier League

Sergio Aguero is the player who has scored the most hat-tricks in Premier League history. He ranks fourth in the all-time Premier League goalscoring charts and is the top scoring foreigner. The Argentine striker, who joined Barcelona this summer, was once considered to be one of the most clinical forwards in the world at his prime.

Of his 12 hat-tricks, half of them came in two seasons - 2017-18 and 2018-19. He bagged three hat-tricks in both seasons, which is an incredible record. In February 2019, Aguero scored back-to-back hat-tricks against Arsenal and Chelsea, a highlight of his illustrious career. The 33-year-old is also one of just five players to have scored five goals in a single Premier League game, which came against Newcastle in 2015-16.

Honorable mentions (three hat-tricks per season): Luis Suarez (2013-14), Dimitar Berbatov (2010-11), Ruud van Nistelrooy (2002-03).

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#2 Harry Kane - 4

Tottenham Hotspur v Burnley - Premier League

Harry Kane's commendable goal-scoring record has earned him the plaudits, with most pundits claiming he could be the one to break Alan Shearer's long-standing Premier League record for most goals. While the England captain still has a long way to go, he is the closest to Shearer in terms of another record.

En route to his second Premier League Golden Boot in the 2016-17 season, Kane scored four hat-tricks. All four of them came in the second half of the season. He saved the best for last as he scored seven goals in the last two games of the season against Leicester and Hull City; just three days apart. Kane has a total of eight hat-tricks in the Premier League.

No other player in the history of the Premier League has scored four hat-tricks in a single season. Kane is also just one golden boot shy of equalling Henry's record of four. The 28-year-old striker will leave a lasting legacy in the Premier League and is one of the greatest goalscorers of this era.

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#1 Alan Shearer - 5

Joy for Alan Shearer of Newcastle as he scores the winning goal

It's been over a decade and a half since his retirement, but Alan Shearer's record at the top of the all-time Premier League goalscoring charts remains unchallenged. The Englishman has scored an incredible 260 goals in the top-flight, which is truly remarkable. His closest contender, Wayne Rooney, retired 52 goals short of his tally, with just 208.

Despite Aguero breaking Shearer's record for the highest number of Premier League hat-tricks, he boasts another record which will be difficult to break. Over the course of the 1995-96 season, Shearer scored an astounding five hat-tricks for Blackburn Rovers.

Nearly half of his total tally of 31 goals that season came from hat-tricks. What is even more incredible about this achievement is the fact that his side struggled that year and finished seventh in the table. In spite of this, Shearer claimed the top-scorer award.

In conclusion, Alan Shearer is likely to go down as the greatest striker in the Premier League. Despite Kane being tipped to surpass him, Shearer will always be talked about for his exploits in front of goal.