It’s a big leap from the Championship to the Premier League, but plenty of players have been successful in making it over time. We look at six stars who could be ready to make the step up to the top flight this summer.
Hayden Hackney
Hayden Hackney was the only player to be named in our 2024-25 Championship Team of the Season who did not play for either of the two clubs to win automatic promotion from the league – Leeds and Burnley.
Playing for England Under-21s this summer at the 2025 U21 European Championships, Hackney was the conductor in the Middlesbrough midfield last season. No player in the Championship was involved in as many open-play attacking sequences that ended in a team shot (273), while he initiated 49 of those himself – only four off the league leader Jason Knight at Bristol City (53).
Hackney may have only provided five goals and three assists, but as a deep-lying midfield player you wouldn’t expect him to have been among the leaders for goal involvements. He did, however, lead the league rankings for secondary chances created – where a player made the pass to the player who created the chance – with 66, which underlined his importance to Middlesbrough’s shot creation.
An adept ball carrier, Hackney progressed the ball upfield more than any other central midfielder in the Championship last season (4,347m). This is one of many facets of his game that has seen his name linked to some Premier League clubs this summer.
Hayden Hackney Shot Involvement
Jack Rudoni
Jack Rudoni enjoyed a superb first season at Coventry City after joining the club from relegated side Huddersfield Town in the summer of 2024.
Having just turned 24 this month, Rudoni is already one of the most promising players in the Championship, despite only playing three seasons of second-tier football following three years of League One action at AFC Wimbledon.
He was one of only three Championship players last season to post double figures for both goals (10) and assists (12) alongside Manor Solomon and Finn Azaz, while only three players created more chances for teammates than he did in 2024-25 (80).
Another key aspect of Rudoni’s game is his excellent set-piece delivery – an area of his game that could easily be transferrable to the Premier League. No player assisted a higher xG total from corners in the Championship last season than Rudoni (2.81), while his corners led to seven goals – nobody delivered more than this in 2024-25.
Jack Rudoni corners Coventry City
Josh Sargent
Norwich City’s Josh Sargent has proved himself as one of the Championship’s most potent strikers.
The United States international has scored 44 goals in the second tier of England over the last three seasons, with only one of those goals coming from the penalty spot. That tally means he’s the second highest scorer in the Championship across those three seasons, with seven goals fewer than Joël Piroe.
After a difficult first season with the Canaries in the Premier League in 2021-22, where Norwich were relegated and Sargent scored just twice in 1,578 minutes of action, he has had no such trouble finding the net in the Championship. Across his three seasons, he has averaged a goal every 171 minutes – slightly better than a goal every two games.
In all three of his Championship seasons at Carrow Road, he’s scored more than his xG total suggests that he ‘should’ have (7.5 overperformance overall) and has improved his shot conversion rate season-on-season, with 2024-25’s 13.3% his highest in a campaign yet.
A move back to the Premier League would give Sargent the opportunity to improve his top-flight goal record and potentially become just the fifth American to score 10+ goals in the competition after Clint Dempsey (57), Brian McBride (36), Christian Pulisic (20) and Roy Wegerle (13).
Josh Sargent Norwich Goals
Giorgi Chakvetadze
A fan favourite at Watford, Giorgi Chakvetadze is one of the best ball carriers in the Championship. The 25-year-old averaged a league-high 160.6m from carries per 90 minutes in the league last season, while only Mikey Johnston (13.0m) averaged more progressive carries per 90 among attacking players than he did (11.0m).
Chakvetadze was the only Championship player in 2024-25 to both attempt 30+ shots (37) and create 30+ chances for his teammates (31) following carries, but his chance creation didn’t come solely from ball carrying – he was one of only nine players to create more than 70 chances overall for teammates last season (73).
His end product can still be improved, with just two goals and six assists in 39 league appearances last season, but Watford’s reliance on Chakvetadze was shown by the fact that until he suffered an injury in early April against Bristol City, the Georgian played in all but one of their 40 league games and his chance creation tally was more than double any other player at the club.
Giorgi Chakvetadze Ball Carrying Watford
Tom Fellows
Another player currently appearing at the U21 European Championships with England, Tom Fellows enjoyed a great season in the Championship after breaking through at West Bromwich Albion in 2023-24.
Fellows assisted a joint-league high 14 goals in 2024-25 alongside Portsmouth’s Josh Murphy, while he ranked sixth overall for open-play chances created (59). Another on this list of players who is an excellent ball carrier, nobody in the Championship created more chances following carries than Fellows last season (36).
A league-high six of his assists came following open-play crosses, while only Murphy (27) created more chances than he did (26) in the Championship from such scenarios. Fellows, however, fired in 96 fewer open-play crosses than Murphy to achieve his tally.
So consistent were his performances last season at West Brom, Fellows was voted as the club’s Young Player of the Year for the second successive campaign.
Tom Fellows Assists West Brom
Jason Knight
Republic of Ireland international Jason Knight was arguably the most impressive player for Bristol City in the Championship last season.
The 24-year-old was an ever-present for his club last season, starting all 50 matches across all competitions on the way to captaining the Robins to their first top-six finish in the second tier since 2007-08.
Knight was integral to breaking up opposition sequences of play and beginning possession sequences for his own club in 2024-25. Bristol City attempted 53 shots from sequences of possession started by Knight, while he also topped the league ranking for chances that began with him actively winning possession back from the opposition (18). His tally of 201 possession wins in the middle third of the pitch was 36 more than any other Championship player last season.
Only four players created more open-play chances in the division than he did for his teammates last season (60), while only Hackney (67) created more secondary chances than his 55.
The 24-year-old has been capped 39 times for his nation but is yet to make an appearance in the top-flight. He might not have to wait too much longer for his chance, however.
Jason Knight Bristol City Possession Won
Opta Stats Hub Championship
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