POLL: Lukaku, Haaland or Kane - which striker is genuinely world class?

The 2021 edition of 90min's Welcome to World Class series is nearing its conclusion - but the fun isn't over just yet.

We've already picked, with the help of a number of fan votes, the world's top five players in nine different positions, identifying those selected as the very best the game has to offer.

How have we worked it out? By using a detailed, but not overly complicated, set of metrics, details of which you can find here.

But we haven't yet named the top five strikers in the game today - and we need YOUR help to determine who will make the cut once our final poll closes.

More details of how you can have your say can be found below, but here's a quick look at the contenders to join Robert Lewandowski, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema - the three strikers already named by the 90min team as being world class in 2021.

Romelu Lukaku

Games played: 38
Minutes played: 2996
Goals: 19
Assists: 9
Chances created: 58
Shots (on target): 102 (45)
Shot conversion rate: 18.6
Minutes per goal: 158

Romelu Lukaku left Manchester United in the summer of 2019 having been made a bit of a scapegoat for the club's continued failings both at home and abroad.

The Belgian had been robbed of his confidence and his smile, and headed for Italy in search of a project that could elevate him back to the very top of the game. Two years later, Lukaku had netted 64 times in 95 games for Inter, partnering alongside Lautaro Martinez to form one of the most feared strike partnerships in world football.

That form won Inter a first Serie A title in a decade and earned Lukaku a £97.5m move back to Chelsea in the summer of 2021 - allowing him a second bite of the cherry at a club he's professed to loving since he was a child.

Erling Haaland

Games played: 38
Minutes played: 3331
Goals: 38
Assists: 10
Chances created: 40
Shots (on target): 130 (78)
Shot conversion rate: 29.2%
Minutes per goal: 88

It's been claimed that Erling Haaland is in fact half human, half cyborg. While 90min cannot verify such claims, what we can do is present the unbelievable statistics that suggest the Norwegian is indeed a world class striker.

• 38 goals in 38 games for Dortmund between 1 January and 30 November? Utterly ridiculous.
• A shot conversion rate of 29.2% - greater than Lewandowski's, Ronaldo's, Benzema's and, well, anybody else? Utterly ridiculous.
• All of the above at the age of 21? Utterly ridiculous.

Sure, Haaland doesn't have a bulging trophy cabinet just yet, but Dortmund's 2021 DFB-Pokal success is sure to be the first of many bits of silverware heading the unbelievable striker's way.

Harry Kane

Games played: 44
Minutes played: 3659
Goals: 25
Assists: 6
Chances created: 46
Shots (on target): 149 (64)
Shot conversion rate: 16.8%
Minutes per goal: 146

Harry Kane's ability is often brushed under the carpet because, well, he's English, and because, well, he plays for Tottenham.

But put all that aside for just a minute and simply appreciate Kane the player. Not only is he a prolific goalscorer, he's a striker that has rounded in game into almost the complete package.

The winner of the Premier League Golden Boot during 2020/21, Kane also bagged the most assists in the division, telepathically linking up with Son Heung-min more times than Jurgen Klopp has moaned about fixture congestion.

Question is, does that qualify him as being world class in your book?

VOTE NOW

Get involved in the tweet below and pick carefully - you only get one vote but the top two will make it in!

We're taking your votes until 4pm (GMT) this afternoon so vote above and head over to our global Twitter page each day to play your part. Have your say and influence the rankings.

The winner of the poll will be announced this evening, while you can also head over to our YouTube channel to watch our in-studio discussion about the very best in the business.