Troy Deeney ranks 10 Premier League strikers and puts Luis Suarez last, gives surprise first choice

Debates always have raged and probably will until the end of time on which forwards are the best from the Premier League era - and Troy Deeney has given his verdict on the subject with some controversial choices.

The 35-year-old played for five seasons in the top flight with Watford, scoring 47 times in the Premier League during his time at Vicarage Road.

Deeney left Watford in 2021 to return to childhood club Birmingham City, whom he played for two seasons and scored 11 times for the Blues.

Last summer, Deeney made the move to League Two side Forest Green Rovers in a player/coaching role, before taking up the management job on a full-time basis, but failed to win any of his six matches in charge and was dismissed in January.

A popular craze which has emerged on TikTok is blind ranking things in whatever subject tickles your fancy - and Deeney has now done just that on his account for Premier League strikers.

Albeit it is a blind ranking and these can sometimes leave you looking like you have gone too high with earlier choices before a big gun is churned out by the social media platform and ensuring a lower ranking than normal.

However, Deeney made a big call straight away when it came to blind ranking his top 10 and put the opening name as his first choice.

Deeney placed former Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers striker Andy Cole as first choice and called him a 'legend' but acknowledged it was a call which would 'upset' some people.

The rest of Deeney's list blindly ranked sees Arsenal legend Thierry Henry in second place, with Didier Drogba third and Wayne Rooney in fourth.

Robin van Persie is given fifth spot, ahead of Dennis Bergkamp in sixth and Ian Wright in seventh.

Nicholas Anelka is handed eighth place, ahead of United legend Eric Cantona in ninth, and Deeney places former Liverpool forward Luis Suarez in tenth.

Deeney's reasoning for putting Suarez bottom of the list is that the Uruguayan 'weren't around long enough to be a Prem legend'.

There is some justification for that, with Suarez spending only three-and-a-half seasons in England's top flight with the Anfield club, which is the lowest time out of the 10 on that list.

And Cole was for sure a great striker and probably a little underrated by some, but it is a bold move to have him as the best out of those names.

Another issue with this list is that a host of several big names were not chucked out, including the likes of Alan Shearer, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Sergio Aguero, Cristiano Ronaldo, Dwight Yorke, Teddy Sheringham and Harry Kane, to mention but a few.

Still, you can only work with what you are given, but this list is sure to spark fierce debate.