League 1 Top Scorer Odds: Can Alfie May fire Huddersfield back to the Championship?

Charlie Kelman claimed the Golden Boot in League 1 last season as he helped fire Leyton Orient into the play-offs with 21 goals. His efforts last season have seen him rewarded with a crack at the Championship in 2025/26 with Charlton Athletic, who defeated the O's in the play-off final at Wembley.

With him out of the picture, who will step up to be the top marksman in the third tier this season? I take a look at some of the leading candidates below using Betfred's League 1 Top Scorer Odds.

Alfie May (Huddersfield Town) @ 6/1

Having just earned his first-ever promotion to the Championship from League 1, Alfie May has made a swift return to a division he knows like the back of his hand with promotion hopefuls Huddersfield Town.

May pushed for the move on the basis of first-team minutes, something which manager Chris Davies couldn't promise him at the Blues as they are once again strengthening their squad for another promotion push. Former Celtic front man Kyogo Furuhashi joined Birmingham earlier in the summer, and it felt like May departing was a real possibility.

As a Birmingham fan, I enjoyed watching him last season as he played his part in a record-breaking campaign, contributing 16 goals and eight assists in the league. It was the first of his four seasons in League 1 to fall shy of the 20-goal mark, but if the Blues had not acquired record signing Jay Stansfield last summer, I think May would've reached that figure comfortably.

He was the Golden Boot winner with Charlton Athletic two seasons ago, and he has bagged 82 goals in this division across 172 appearances. He has been acquired by Huddersfield to help them return to the second tier and the experience gained last year will help him aid the Terriers in their own promotion push.

It was a statement signing and the 32-year-old still has much more to give at this level, and I think he will thrive being the main man again.

Yousef Salech (Cardiff City) @ 9/1

Cardiff City were relegated from the Championship last term and they are listed as the joint-third favourites to win League 1 in 2025-26. It was a disappointing campaign for the Bluebirds but one of the few bright sparks was forward Yousef Salech, who offers them a glimmer of hope for the new term - if he sticks around.

The Danish striker bagged eight goals in 20 Championship games last season and the bookies think he has all the attributes to shine in the third tier. Despite being 6ft 5in, the 23-year-old is quite agile, making him a huge threat to defenders in League 1.

Cardiff have still got work to do in the transfer market for them to have a strong squad capable of going back up at the first attempt, but keeping hold of Salech would be a huge statement of intent and he should be able to have a lot of joy in front of goal at this level.

Football Odds

Elijah Adebayo (Luton Town) @ 12/1

Luton Town followed in the footsteps of Sunderland and Wolverhampton Wanderers by suffering back-to-back relegations last season, and they are deemed as the favourites to win League 1 in 2025/26.

They've lost a huge source of goals in Carlton Morris, who was also their captain, as he moved back to the Championship with Derby County earlier in the summer. Someone needs to step up and fill that void and Elijah Adebayo may be the chosen one.

Last term was a disappointing one for the Hatters' striker as he managed just five goals across 39 appearances in the second tier, having managed 10 in the Premier League the season before.

It's clear that his confidence has taken a knock but being back at a lower level might be what's needed to get him back firing. Luton are set to have the strongest squad in the division and Adebayo could benefit from that.

Richard Kone (Wycombe Wanderers) @ 12/1

Richard Kone enjoyed a breakout campaign in League 1 last season with Wycombe Wanderers, bagging 18 goals in 43 appearances. The Ivorian striker was flying when Matt Bloomfield, now at Luton, was in the dugout, while the goals dried up when Mike Dodds took over the reins.

Kone was subject to bids from Luton in January and so far there have been no concrete links regarding a summer exit, but with Nahki Wells joining the Hatters, this avenue looks closed off for now.

The Chairboys let a huge opportunity slip last year, having been the only team to push Birmingham close at one stage in the season. The club's owners are ambitious, though, and have invested in the squad. If they can keep hold of Kone, that will be another signal of intent. Dodds will need pre-season to find the best way of getting the same output from Kone as his predecessor did.

If that can be achieved, Kone could be in for another profitable campaign.

Nahki Wells (Luton Town) @ 16/1

In his career, Wells has not spent much of it in League 1. He has made a total of 22 appearances in the third tier but scored 14 goals along the way. The 35-year-old is a much different player now than he was at Bradford City 12 years ago, but he is still showing that he can be a useful operator, having bagged 10 goals in the Championship with Bristol City last term.

Their supporters were disappointed to see him leave, which bodes well for Luton, who are aiming for a swift return back to the Championship. His experience is likely going to be key for the Hatters, and his record during his brief time at this level makes for good reading.

Joe Taylor (Huddersfield Town) @ 20/1

Huddersfield splashed £3m on Joe Taylor in January from Luton and so far the move has not been going to plan. The 22-year-old scored just twice in 15 league appearances for the Terriers, and he will be desperate to become a much bigger source of goals for Huddersfield.

The arrival of May should help relieve him of some pressures, and being able to learn off one of the best goalscorers at this level in recent years should only help him in his development.

Malik Mothersille (Stockport County) @ 20/1

Stockport County made a statement of intent in the transfer window, by acquiring forward Malik Mothersille from Peterborough United in a club-record fee. The 23-year-old contributed 12 goals and nine assists for the Posh last term and now he will be tasked with contributing to Stockport's promotion push, having crashed out of the play-offs in the previous attempt.

The Hatters are being tipped by many for automatic promotion this time around and a player of Mothersille's quality has the potential to help them over the line. And with the quality in the squad, he could be set to improve his goalscoring figures in 2025/26.

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