If you are a footballer and your team failed to win promotion to the Premier League from the Championship in a given season, it does not always mean that sweet dream of reaching the top flight is over.
No, for some players, there is hope they can make it there despite their team’s failure.
While it might not go down well with fans of their clubs, to chase the dream, sometimes you have to jump ship. So here are 11 Championship talents who have the ability to find themselves playing Premier League football come August.
Hayden Hackney (Middlesbrough)
Let’s start with Hayden Hackney. Born in Redcar, he should just jump in the cab that shares his name and ask to be dropped off in the Premier League. Anywhere here will do. And if the England under-21 international’s name sounds ready for the top-flight, then wait until you watch him play.
The Middlesbrough midfielder, 22, has long been linked with a move to England’s top division. There has always been a feeling he would make it one day. Could that day come this summer?
Michael Carrick, who left the Riverside at the end of the season, made him a key part of his team. His aggressive play in midfield has earned him admirers. Hackney loves the ball; he wants to win it and look after it. He wants to play nice passes, create chances, take shots – and often does. He is all action and looks ready for his big break.
Hayden Hackney impressed for Middlesbrough last season (Scott Llewellyn | MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Josh Sargent (Norwich City)
One of the more familiar names on this list, one thing you can say about Josh Sargent is that he knows where the goal is. For Norwich City last season, he scored 15 times and completed five assists in 32 league matches.
The 25-year-old is adored at Carrow Road for his finishing, and it feels like the right time for the U.S. men’s national team striker to have another crack at the top tier. His first season at Norwich was a Premier League campaign that ended in relegation. In that season, he scored two goals in 26 games.
But since then, his experience has ramped up a level and so have his goal involvements. In each of his three seasons in the Championship, he has scored more than 13 goals. In 2023-24, he bagged 16, while last season he hit 15.
He would relish adding to that top-flight tally.
Borja Sainz (Norwich City)
Often found keeping defenders busy in the same attack as Sargent is Borja Sainz. The left-winger from northern Spain scored 18 times last term and grabbed four assists in 41 league appearances. This level of productivity is why he could be due for a move away from Norfolk.
Sainz’s record is even more impressive when you remember the period of the season he missed. In January, he was banned for six games and fined £12,000 ($14.8k) by the Football Association for spitting at an opponent during Norwich’s 2-1 defeat to Sunderland. Sainz, 24, apologised for what he called an “unacceptable” reaction and said he deeply regretted his behaviour. He was still named in the EFL team of the season for 2024-25.
Giorgi Chakvetadze (Watford)
With his socks rolled down to his ankles, Giorgi Chakvetadze, 25, is always on a mission through midfield. The central midfielder, who can play out on the wing, featured for Georgia at Euro 2024, their first major tournament. An integral part of the playbook for club and country, he is effortlessly fun to watch as he speeds and dribbles around opponents.
While his numbers last season (two goals, six assists) were relatively low and an area for improvement, Chakvetadze is best judged on how much heart and passion he pours into every performance.
Tom Fellows (West Bromwich Albion)
Tom Fellows has a knack for finding the final pass. The England Under-21 international racked up 14 assists in the Championship for West Brom last season. No player in the league recorded more than the 21-year-old, with Portsmouth’s Josh Murphy also providing 14.
A right-footed dynamo, Fellows can play anywhere on the right flank, including as winger or wing-back, and has made his name going forward. His two goals and one assist on the final day contributed to relegating Luton Town as West Brom won 5-3.
He is always on the move, and the direction he is going in is exciting.
Harrison Burrows (Sheffield United)
Does your Premier League team need a left-back with a great left foot who knows how to perfectly time a cross? Harrison Burrows might be one to look out for. The 23-year-old defender was named League One player of the season for the 2023-24 campaign, his final one with boyhood club Peterborough United before joining Sheffield United.
He thrived after making the step up. He’s an astute defender and loves to get on the front foot. He had 20 goal involvements in 2023-24 before scoring six goals for United last term.
They lost the play-off final to Sunderland at Wembley, but chances are Burrows will be a top-flight player in the coming years.
Burrows was part of Sheffield United’s unsuccessful play-off campaign (George Wood/Getty Images)
Gustavo Hamer (Sheffield United)
The oldest player on this list, Gustavo Hamer is 27, and one of the best to watch. Born in Brazil and raised in the Netherlands, Hamer scored nine goals and notched seven assists as he was named Championship player of the season. He has all-rounder energy from midfield and his assist in the play-off final at Wembley encapsulates him.
It was a tenacious run followed by an outside-of-the-boot pass to Tyrese Campbell that had United fans dreaming of the top tier until Sunderland mounted a late comeback to win 2-1. While the season ended on a painfully sour note, Hamer’s contributions will not be forgotten.
He excelled at Coventry City before moving to Bramall Lane for their return to the Premier League in 2023-24. He should be playing in the top tier.
Jack Rudoni (Coventry City)
Another midfielder who made a name for himself last season was Jack Rudoni. The 24-year-old’s nine goals and 12 assists in 43 league games helped pull Coventry City into the play-offs. He signed for Mark Robins, but Frank Lampard’s arrival as manager brought the best out of him — and he should know a goalscoring midfielder when he sees one.
A former Crystal Palace and AFC Wimbledon youth player, Rudoni enjoyed loan spells at non-League sides Corinthian-Casuals and Tonbridge Angels before moving to Huddersfield Town in 2022. His spell in West Yorkshire did not quite work out, but Lampard has brought the best out of him.
No stranger to surging into the box, Rudoni scored both goals against Middlesbrough on the final day of the season to earn Lampard’s team a play-off berth.
Milan van Ewijk (Coventry City)
Amsterdam-born Milan van Ewijk, 24, has starred at right-back for Coventry for the past two seasons. He had a moment to forget in the play-off semi-finals when trying to play a back pass to his goalkeeper. Instead, he gifted the ball to Eliezer Mayenda, who scored to put Sunderland 2-1 up going into the second leg.
Barring that slip-up, Van Ewijk’s season and talent should be remembered for more. He is an astute defender with instinctive positioning, which often leads to some lightning forward breaks.
Michael Cooper (Sheffield United)
No team is complete without a goalkeeper. Therefore, it only feels right to add one to this list. Michael Cooper, a former Plymouth Argyle shot-stopper, kept 21 clean sheets last season for Sheffield United.
The 25-year-old from Exeter left his boyhood club a year ago, and his first season in Yorkshire almost ended in promotion to the Premier League. Such is Cooper’s ability, he could end up playing there despite the last-gasp loss at Wembley. He will not come cheap, but someone may test Sheffield United’s resolve — new head coach Ruben Selles will hope they don’t.
Finn Azaz (Middlesbrough)
Republic of Ireland international Finn Azaz, 24, is an attacking midfielder who is balanced and skilful on both feet. Stints at West Brom, Cheltenham Town, Aston Villa, Newport County, Plymouth, and now Middlesbrough have earned him plenty of experience.
He never got to feature for Villa in the top flight during his time there and he would surely love to make it back to a Premier League club and prove that is where his talent belongs.
His 12 goals and 11 assists last term have put him on the map in the Championship. Who is to say — as with the others on this list — that he can’t repeat the feat in that shiny league above?
(Top photos: Getty Images)
