The Bundesliga has become appointment viewing for American soccer fans, and the timing could not be better. A home World Cup just wrapped across the United States, Canada and Mexico, which means millions of new fans watched many of these strikers up close before they flew back to Germany for another scoring war. Germany’s top flight scores more freely than almost any league in Europe, so the race for the Torjägerkanone, the trophy handed to the league’s leading scorer, is where the real drama lives every single season.
One man towers over everyone else. The rest are fighting for scraps, or for the small chance that the big favorite has an off year. Here is how we rank the five names most likely to finish 2026/27 sitting on top of the charts, counting down from five to one.
No. 5 Jonathan Burkardt, Eintracht Frankfurt
Start with the German dark horse. Burkardt grew into Frankfurt’s main striker last season and delivered 13 league goals, quiet numbers next to the men above him but a real sign of a player stepping into his prime. Frankfurt play fast, direct soccer and generate a heavy volume of chances, which is exactly the environment a natural poacher needs to thrive.
Bundesliga goals in 2025/26 – 13
He is not going to outscore Harry Kane. Almost nobody will. But if Frankfurt push back toward the European places under Adi Hütter and Burkardt stays healthy across a full campaign, a leap into the low twenties is well within reach. A World Cup summer on home soil for many of his rivals raised his profile too, and a hot start would keep him firmly in the German national team picture for years to come.
No. 4 Serhou Guirassy, Borussia Dortmund
This is the wild card, and the reason is simple. When Guirassy is settled and firing, he is one of the most lethal center forwards on the continent.
Bundesliga goals in 2023/24 and 2024/25 combined – 49
That total is his ceiling, and it is a frightening one. The problem is everything swirling around it. Guirassy managed only 17 league goals in a frustrating 2025/26, and his future at Dortmund has been the subject of constant transfer noise all summer. The club has been openly linked with a striker to replace him, and a late move away from the Bundesliga would kill his candidacy on the spot. If he stays and rediscovers the form that once made him unplayable, he could finish second behind Kane and nobody would blink. If he leaves, scratch him off the list entirely. That uncertainty is exactly why he sits at four rather than near the summit.
No. 3 Patrik Schick, Bayer Leverkusen
Schick is the metronome of this list. Year after year he simply scores, and he does it without much fuss or fanfare.
Bundesliga goals over the last two seasons – 37
The Czech striker buried 21 in 2024/25 and followed up with 16 last season, saving some of his sharpest work for the closing weeks, including a hat trick against RB Leipzig. Leverkusen enter a new era under coach Carles Martínez after a busy summer rebuild, and the quality of service around Schick will decide his final tally. He remains the undisputed focal point of the attack, and a striker this dependable in a team that will control the ball for long stretches is always going to hover near the top of the scoring chart. A run at 20 goals feels like his floor rather than his ceiling if he avoids injury.
No. 2 Deniz Undav, VfB Stuttgart
Undav is the challenger, the one man on this list who could realistically deny Kane if every card falls his way. He finished second in the scoring race last season with 19 goals despite missing the opening weeks with a knee problem, then carried that momentum into the World Cup, where he scored for Germany on American soil in front of a fresh audience.
Bundesliga goals in 2025/26 – 19
He signed a contract extension through 2029 in the summer, so there is no cloud of speculation hanging over him this time. Stuttgart kept their core together and qualified for the Champions League again, which means Undav leads the line for a confident, attacking side that trusts him completely. If he opens the season fully fit rather than chasing lost ground, 20 plus goals is a genuine target. He has the penalty duties, the movement and the finishing to get there, and he is the value pick for anyone who wants an alternative to the obvious name.
No. 1 Harry Kane, Bayern Munich
There was never any real suspense at the top. Kane has won the Torjägerkanone three seasons running, and last season he flattened the field with 36 league goals, a haul that made the race feel settled by the winter break.
Bundesliga goals in 2025/26 – 36
Everything points to a fourth straight crown. He stayed at Bayern through the usual summer talk, he takes the penalties, and he leads the most fearsome attack in the country alongside Michael Olise and Luis Díaz. Bayern smashed their own club scoring record last season, and Kane was the engine behind all of it. For an American audience that watched England at the World Cup, he is the most recognizable face in this entire race and comfortably the safest bet on the board. Barring a serious injury, picking against him is picking against gravity.
The verdict
Kane is the favorite by a wide margin, and the honest read is that the other four are really competing for second place and the faint hope of an upset. Undav is the most likely to make it close, Schick is the reliable long shot, Guirassy is the boom or bust gamble, and Burkardt is the name to circle if you enjoy a good story. For US fans still riding the high of a home World Cup, this is the perfect league to adopt next, and the scoring race is the easiest and most fun way in.
Borussia Dortmund
Germany
Harry Kane
Patrik Schick