One player from each of the Championship’s 10 best clubs destined for Premier League transfers

Archie Gray, Leif Davis, Stephy Mavididi, Jaden Philogene

We've picked the likeliest player from the Championship's top 10 to step up to the top flight

With the Championship season coming to a close, there’s still so much to be decided in the race for promotion to the Premier League.

Leicester City, Leeds United and Southampton all suffered relegation from the Premier League last season but are pushing for an immediate return, while Ipswich Town are also strong contenders for automatic promotion and the race for the play-offs is exciting as always.

At least one very strong team is going to miss out on elevation to the top flight. But one thing for sure is that there are so many quality players who if their team doesn’t go up, they should themselves.

Here, we’ve picked out the most likely player at each of the top 10 clubs in the Championship to make it into the Premier League next season, regardless of whether their clubs do or not.

Leicester City – Stephy Mavididi

For a lot of the season Leicester have been top of the league and they’ve had a variety of top performers. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has been their best player, Ricardo Pereira has been playing at such a high level too along with the likes of Abdul Fatawu, Wout Faes and Mads Hermansen. But former Arsenal academy player Stephy Mavididi is one of the best and certainly Premier League ready.

The Hale End product left Arsenal to join Juventus and played in their Next Gen team (academy development club). After a year there he joined Dijon on loan and then the following season permanently moved to Montpellier. At Montpellier he got better and better, developing into one of their most influential players.

Mavididi was in Ligue 1 at a mid/upper table team as one of their best attackers, so for Leicester to sign him the year they were relegated to the Championship was a real coup. However, it’s a deal that’s paid off massively and Mavididi has proven he’s too good for the Championship.

Ipswich Town – Leif Davis

Leeds United academy prospect Leif Davis wasn’t really given a chance at Leeds and was loaned to Bournemouth back in 2021/22. During this loan he made only 15 appearances, 10 being starts.

The following summer came a permanent move to Ipswich Town in League One for £1m. Davis quickly became a key player in defence and developed a lot under manager Kieran McKenna to become one of the best creative players helping them to win the League One title.

Now this season, Davis has transitioned to the Championship seamlessly and been a real game changer for Ipswich. In fact, his creativity, crossing and set-pieces have enabled him to get 19 assists so far this season from left-back!

 

Top five players with most assists in the Championship this season

The stats are very impressive and so often in games when they’re behind it’s a Davis cross or set-piece that gets them back in the game. If Ipswich go up he’ll be a huge reason.

READ MORENewcastle, West Ham tipped to sign brilliant left-back with mind-blowing 17 assists already this season

Leeds United – Archie Gray

In 2024 Leeds have been the best team in the Championship and are still unbeaten this year. After a slow start to the 2023/24 season, since the new year they’ve been much better and more consistent. Even when not playing well they’ve managed to come away with something rather than losing.

This is massively down to the quality of the players in attack such as Georginio Rutter, Crysencio Summerville and Wilfred Gnonto. But also the defence has been much more solid than previous years with the likes of Ethan Ampadu and Joe Rodon adding that defensive solidity.

But of course, the most impressive player of the lot is 17-year-old academy prospect Archie Gray. The English midfielder has filled in all over the pitch this season in his debut season and hugely impressed wherever he’s played. Often he’s been at right-back and him playing there has enabled Leeds to still field a strong team whilst they’ve struggled with injuries to key defenders like Pascal Struijk, or when he was at the club previously, Djed Spence.

Gray has shown some serious ability to defend 1v1s, shut out attackers, create from deep, invert into midfield and provide an overlap. He’s a complete player and one certainly ready for the Premier League.

IN DEPTH – Archie Gray: Why Leeds United have a future £100m player on their hands

Southampton – Taylor Harwood-Bellis

Like the previous three, Southampton have been a consistently strong team this season and have many players to choose from. Kyle Walker-Peters and Kamaldeen Sulemana especially could be good even for a top six side as squad players. But they both were in the Premier League before so let’s focus on one who hasn’t played in it yet: Taylor Harwood-Bellis.

The English centre-back was instrumental in Burnley winning the Championship last season and then the following window joined Southampton on loan from Man City. Harwood-Bellis is such a calm ball-playing CB with a lot of quality on the ball. He’s able to pass through the lines and is so secure.

It’s a surprise he’s not moved to a higher up team yet but the experience being a starter in the Championship for another year will have helped his progression a lot.

West Brom – Cedric Kipre

Manager Carlos Corberan has turned around this West Brom side a lot, turning them into a much more competitive team. Kipre’s presence at the back has been vital for them.

A 6’4” warrior CB who’s a front-footed aggressor and aerially dominant, the Ivorian defender not only is solid defensively but is composed and secure on the ball too.

Norwich City – Gabriel Sara

There are two standout names for Norwich, one being Jonathan Rowe. There’s no doubt he’s another one who’ll be looked at. But the main player is Gabriel Sara.

The Brazilian midfielder has so much ability on the ball and good physical fundamentals to make the transition and adapt to many different set-ups. Sara’s shooting and creativity has been under-utilised at Norwich but despite that he has impressive numbers. Get him in a better role and he’ll shine.

READ MOREFive Championship standouts Leeds Utd should sign if promoted to the Premier League

Coventry City – Ben Sheaf

For Coventry, the main option is Ben Sheaf. The all-round midfielder came through Arsenal’s academy but was never given a chance in the Premier League and since has grown each season to become a consistent performer in the Championship. A press-resistant pivot with good possession-recycling abilities, Sheaf is just the type of midfielder Premier League teams would love.

If Coventry don’t managed to get promoted, we could definitely see either one of the promoted sides or one of the mid-to-lower-table teams in the Premier League going for him.

Preston North End – Liam Millar

The Canadian winger has played as a wingback this season and has been very impressive. Millar is excellent in 1v1s and has good ball manipulation to shift the ball and cut inside onto his right foot from the left wing. Liam Millar could definitely do a job for lower Premier League team, his quality is clear to see.

Hull City – Jaden Philogene

Hull have a good group of really talented players, including Jacob Greaves, Anass Zaroury, Fabio Carvalho and Ryan Giles. Yes, some are loans but there’s no doubt they’re good enough for the Premier League. Greaves especially could be picked up by a Premier League team.

But Jaden Philogene is a standout prospect – a silky winger who’s completely ambipedal and can play on both sides, has a good level of physicality and is a 1v1 expert.

Middlesbrough – Hayden Hackney

It’s a surprise Hayden Hackney wasn’t picked up earlier to be honest as he was such a key player for Middlesbrough in their playoff-finishing team. Such a smart midfielder who’s capable of playing various roles, Hackney does well entering the box to score chances but is as good at being a key player in build up play building from the back. So as an all-phase #8 he’s pretty perfect for the Premier League.