David Villa is an obvious but value pick for World Cup Golden Shoe

Barcelona splashed out £34.5 million to sign a 28-year-old striker earlier this summer, something which means that the Catalan club might get four decent seasons out of the player if they are lucky. However, David Villa is no ordinary forward and the former Valencia man looks an excellent bet to finish Top Goalscorer in South Africa this summer.

The Spain centre forward opened the scoring against Poland during his team’s final warm-up match of the season and Paddy Power’s 8/1 about him winning the Golden Shoe should be taken, especially as the Irish bookmaker are offering each-way terms of ¼ odds for the first five places. Villa has an excellent strike rate for his country of 37 goals in 57 appearances, something which makes him rightful favourite.

The other player that catches the eye is Robin Van Persie, even if the price has shrank from 22/1 to a best price 12/1 (Sporting Bet) in the past fortnight. While these predictions might have echoes of a previous article where Spain and Holland have been tipped on the outright market, the truth is that Arsenal’s flying Dutchman should get plenty of joy from matches against Denmark, Cameroon and Japan.

When you consider that Rafael Van Der Vaart, Dirk Kuyt and Wesley Sneijder will be providing a rich supply line and the fact that RVP has been banging in the goals during the warm-up matches, it still might be worth an each-way wager on the 26-year-old.

Brazil strikers are always worthy of consideration and the Samba Kings should have an enjoyable start to the campaign against North Korea. This makes Luis Fabiano (12/1 Paddy Power) and Robinho (33/1 Victor Chandler) worth a second look, especially as the latter is looking a far better proposition than Manchester City supporters will remember him during the final few matches at Eastlands. However, Dunga is a pragmatic coach who will be looking for a safety-first approach when it comes to matches against the Ivory Coast and Portugal.

Wayne Rooney was one of the top goalscorers during European qualification for the World Cup, with nine goals in ten matches for England. It’s clear that the Manchester United has a short fuse, although a strong case can be put forward that he’s worth a gamble at 11/1 (Paddy Power). It depends whether the Three Lions are the real deal or whether they flatter to deceive again, although Rooney should have some joy during the group stages.

There are players available at bigger prices who could fill their boots in South Africa and not just with their feet! Antonio Di Natale is one such forward and the Udinese man looks a big price at 50/1 (Sky Bet) to walk away with the Golden Shoe. He managed 29 goals to finish top scorer in Serie A last season and should enjoy the freedom afforded to him by New Zealand, who will struggle against the Azzurri.

Miroslav Klose won the Golden Shoe four years ago and is on offer at 33/1 with William Hill. While the Bayern Munich striker has spent much of the domestic season on the bench or injured, he’s often the saviour for Germany as he proved in Russia during qualifying.