Euro 2012: Top Goalscorer Tip

With many of the leading strikers in the world on display over the coming month it’s surprising how many we can quickly discount as ideal picks for top goalscorer. To give ourselves the best chance possible we want to find a player who will get a lot of time on the pitch and receive high quality service.

Naturally our focus is bound to be with the best teams who are most likely to progress the farthest. I have my doubts about Portugal, Italy and England; this means I’ll overlook the likes of Ronaldo (14/1 PaddyPower), Balotelli (33/1 Bet365) and Rooney (50/1 Bluesquare).

The bookmakers think the tournament winner is most likely to come from Spain, Germany or Netherlands. Even if we broadly agree, there are exciting forwards for those sides with whom we should also tread carefully.

For Germany, either Mario Gomez (9/1 BetVictor) or Miroslav Klose (20/1 bodog) have the potential to be explosive. The problem is they seem to be competing for one spot in the starting line-up and it’s not clear who will get the nod.

It’s a very similar predicament facing Netherlands. Robin van Persie (10/1 WilliamHill) will do very well to keep goal-machine Klass-Jan Huntelaar (18/1 PaddyPower) on the bench even if that looks like where he’ll begin proceedings. The perils of job-sharing may stop any of these four hotshots finding the net enough to land the Golden Boot.

Inevitably, my attention is bound to turn to reigning champions Spain. David Villa would have been hot favourite to win this market as he did in Euro 2008, but he is ruled out through injury. With Fernando Torres (18/1 WilliamHill) struggling to score with any regularity for club or country in the last 12 months he can also be overlooked.

Instead, I think the man to side with is Fernando Llorente - a 16/1 shot with PaddyPower. Of the strikers in the Spanish squad it is he who has enjoyed the most prolific season for his club. The 27-year-old scored 29 goals in all competitions as he helped to guide Athletic Bilbao to the Europa League final.

So long as he shows reasonable performance levels when Group C kicks off, Llorente is probably first choice striker for the Euro 2012 favourites. With the maestros of Iniesta and Xavi to thread passes through to him on a regular basis, he has the potential to become a star of the tournament.

He may have six matches to find the net in if Spain reach the final as many expect. That makes him a great option at a best price of 16/1 with PaddyPower.