From the goal-fest at Elland Road as Leeds United drew 3-3 with newly-promoted Portsmouth to Sheffield Wednesday’s 4-0 rout of Wayne Rooney’s Plymouth Argyle, the Championship kicked off in typically exciting fashion last weekend.
Given the Premier League does not start until Manchester United play Fulham on Friday, many top-flight eyes were drawn to the second-tier action and plenty of highly-rated players linked with moves impressed on the opening weekend.
From young talents waiting for their first opportunity to show what they can do to more seasoned operators in England’s top flight who have dropped down a division, The Athletic has picked 10 Championship players Premier League clubs should be keeping an eye on before August 30’s transfer deadline.
Despite Sheffield United’s struggles in the Premier League last season, Gustavo Hamer emerged with his head held high.
Hamer, who is eligible to play for Brazil and the Netherlands, joined Coventry City from PEC Zwolle in 2020. He made an immediate impression in the West Midlands — not solely thanks to his quality on the ball, but also his aggression, which saw him sent off for violent conduct in his fifth appearance in a 3-1 defeat to Bournemouth.
While that bite in midfield has not left Hamer’s game, he’s developed into a more disciplined operator in recent seasons. Since moving to Sheffield United from Coventry last summer, Hamer has scored six goals and picked up eight assists, including an opening-day goal in a 2-0 away win over Preston North End last Friday.
Sheffield United paid £15million for Hamer last summer and, given he impressed considerably for a weak side, they should expect to receive a profit if he were to move before deadline day. Hamer, 27, is in his prime and is now a proven entity in the Premier League. Several top-flight clubs might be tempted to enquire if he continues his strong form through the remainder of August.
Hamer celebrating his goal against Preston (Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)
As attacking link players go, Rutter is about as good as it gets in the Championship.
He ended last season with 16 assists in all competitions, primarily playing just off a central striker, dropping between the lines to connect the midfield and attack. He is far from prolific, registering just six goals in 45 league appearances — a quality Premier League clubs will surely need Rutter to improve upon if he is to make the step up — but his ability to support from deeper positions is first-rate. He provided an assist for Willy Gnonto in Leeds’ 3-3 draw with Portsmouth last Saturday.
Leeds paid a club-record fee, which could rise to £35million, for him in January 2023. That could be a stumbling block in negotiations as Leeds will look to make a return on the 22-year-old who signed from Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga. He is also under contract until 2028, putting no pressure on the West Yorkshire club to part with one of their most important players as they look to gun for promotion at the second attempt this season.
There was interest in Rutter from Brighton & Hove Albion earlier in the summer, but that is said to have cooled. Leeds are well-positioned to cope with Rutter’s departure given Joel Piroe has proven his quality in a similar position across several seasons with Leeds and Swansea City. Given Rutter’s considerable potential, however, it is no surprise Leeds are keen to keep him at Elland Road.
Sander Berge has perhaps not made the impression in English football expected of him when Sheffield United signed him for Genk in 2020, but he’s shown enough to attract the interest of Premier League clubs.
Before Berge joined Sheffield United for a club-record €25million (£21.4m; $27.4m) fee, he was linked to Manchester United, whose then-boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had a strong interest in his Norwegian compatriot. Berge impressed at Bramall Lane without setting the world alight before moving to Burnley last summer for £15m. Last season, he was a near ever-present, making 37 appearances with 34 starts, as Burnley suffered relegation back to the Championship with a 19th-place finish.
United have resumed their interest in the 26-year-old as they look to find a low-cost partner for Kobbie Mainoo in the midfield. Berge was left out of Burnley’s impressive 4-1 dismantling of Luton Town on Monday night, though head coach Scott Parker attributed his absence to a slight knock.
It remains to be seen whether the 46-cap Norway international will be the man to line up alongside Mainoo this season, with the asking price of more than £20million proving to be a stumbling block at this stage.
Berge playing in pre-season for Burnley (Matt McNulty/Getty Images)
At the beginning of the window, a Premier League move for Jobe Bellingham appeared on the cards.
The Athletic reported Brentford’s interest in the 18-year-old at the end of May, but their interest has cooled in recent months, with Sunderland determined not to sell. It appears Bellingham plans to stay at the Wearside club for at least another season, but Sunderland’s resolve could be tested again if he starts the season strongly.
Bellingham made 45 league appearances for Sunderland last season, scoring seven goals and registering an assist. His finest performance came in the third game of the season, where he scored twice in a 2-1 win over Rotherham from attacking midfield, displaying his quality inside the box. After impressing for much of last term, he has started this season strongly, too, assisting Jack Clarke’s goal in Sunderland’s 2-0 win on Saturday.
While still only 18, Bellingham already has 70 appearances in the second tier, playing primarily as a central striker or attacking midfielder. His ability across two positions will be attractive to Premier League clubs. While he might not yet know in what position his future lies, he has the physical and technical qualities to adjust to top-flight football as a No 9 or a No 10.
Sammie Szmodics emerged from nowhere to become one of the Championship’s best and most important players last season.
While Szmodics’ 15 goals in League One during the 2020-21 season indicated his goalscoring potential, he had failed to translate that form into the Championship until last season. Under Jon Dahl Tomasson and later John Eustace, the 28-year-old exploded into form at Ewood Park, scoring 33 goals in 48 matches in all competitions. Szmodics, primarily an attacking midfielder or second striker, won the Championship’s Golden Boot for his 27 goals — by far the best attacking return of his professional career.
His form earned the Essex-born attacker a call-up to the Republic of Ireland in March and he has since represented them four times. Szmodics has been coveted by Ipswich this summer and was left out of Blackburn’s last four pre-season games in preparation for the start of the season with his situation in limbo.
Despite playing only 25 minutes in Blackburn’s 4-2 win over Derby County on Friday and not being fully match-fit, Szmodics demonstrated his quality with a goal and assist. With his future uncertain, this could be a saga that could last until the window’s final days.
Szmodics celebrating his goal on Friday (Charlotte Tattersall/Getty Images)
Jack Clarke
Jack Clarke is a familiar name for EFL fans, having plied his trade in English football’s second and third tiers since the 2018-19 season.
Still only 23, Clarke has racked up 146 league appearances across spells at Leeds, Queens Park Rangers, Stoke City and Sunderland and his form at the Stadium of Light has attracted interest from Premier League clubs. Clarke has already had a taste of the big time, having moved from Leeds to Tottenham Hotspur in 2019 following an impressive debut season at Elland Road, where he scored twice in 22 league matches as a teenager.
Clarke could not break into the first team in north London, failing to make a single first-team appearance for Tottenham, and joined Sunderland in 2022 permanently after playing an integral role in their promotion to the Championship while on loan. From there, Clarke has excelled. He had his strongest season yet in 2023-24, scoring 15 goals in 40 league matches from the left wing, and it appears he’s taken last season’s form into the current campaign, opening his account with a goal in Sunderland’s 2-0 win over Cardiff City on Saturday.
Having felt first-hand the perils of signing for a Premier League club before he was ready to make an impression, Clarke might be reluctant to jump to the top flight. However, it’s clear he has the talent and if his form continues, Sunderland could be tempted to part with their star attacker should a significant bid arrive.
Though Hayden Hackney’s season was interrupted by injury, he made a significant impression at the base of Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough midfield in 2022-23.
Middlesbrough started the season poorly last year, winning none of their seven opening matches, but kicked into gear from that point with a six-game winning run in which Hackney played an integral part. He scored twice in 28 appearances in all competitions and assisted as many times, but his contribution extends further than basic statistics.
The eye test shows a physically imposing midfielder capable of controlling matches and dictating the tempo – and the statistics prove it. In the past year, Hackney, 22, ranks in the top 12 per cent or better (when compared with midfielders across the next 14 top leagues outside Europe’s top five and Champions League) in shot-creating actions, attempted passes, progressive passes, and progressive carries.
Hackney’s form under Carrick earned him a spot in Lee Carsley’s England Under-21 side last season, where he has now made five appearances. Hackney is a Middlesbrough fan and has expressed a desire to win promotion with his boyhood club, but interest from the Premier League seems inevitable if he does not achieve his ambition. Still, with several clubs looking for a holding midfield player, that interest could accelerate this window if he continues to impress.
Hackney is a key player for Middlesbrough (George Wood/Getty Images)
Coventry City are entering the Championship season in good shape, with many predicting they have a chance to finish the season in one of the automatic promotion places — but their chances of achieving that success might lie in the future of Ben Sheaf.
Since signing permanently from Arsenal in 2021, Sheaf has established himself as a key contributor to Coventry’s rise under Mark Robins. Last season, the 26-year-old made 36 appearances in all competitions as Coventry finished ninth and reached the semi-final of the FA Cup. When fit, Sheaf was an ever-present under Robins, with his tough-tackling and metronomic passing providing a foundation at the base of midfield for the manager to build from.
For his consistent contribution, Sheaf was made Coventry’s club captain before their season’s opening game, a 1-0 away defeat to Stoke City, which he missed because of an ankle injury. Given Sheaf was awarded the captaincy on the eve of the season, it appears his immediate future lies in the West Midlands, but with several top-flight clubs wanting to add a holding midfielder to their ranks before the new campaign starts, Sheaf is a player to keep an eye on.
Watford’s resolve regarding Yaser Asprilla, who is attracting interest from Europe and beyond, has already been tested this summer.
Asprilla, 20, has yet to explode into a top-level attacker, but he has enormous potential. Last season, the Colombia international scored six goals and added seven assists in 44 Championship matches as Watford laboured to a 15th-place finish. At his best, he’s a lightning-quick, tricky, left-footed right-winger able to take defenders on in one-on-one situations as well as score goals from inside and outside the box. His performances at Vicarage Road earned him a spot on Colombia’s squad for Copa America, where they reached the final.
Earlier this window, Watford agreed a £25million fee to sell Asprilla to France’s Rennes, leaving it up to the player to decide. However, the offer came with an expiration date, which has now passed. That situation is therefore no longer active, leaving it open for a Premier League club to swoop in. He missed Saturday’s season-opening 3-2 away win at Millwall, but Watford are keen to have him back for selection for their next league game against Stoke City while remaining aware that offers might materialise in the closing weeks of the window.
Asprilla playing for Colombia at the Copa America (Omar Vega/Getty Images)
Morgan Whittaker
After demonstrating glimpses of his promise at Derby County and Swansea City, Morgan Whittaker has made significant strides in realising his considerable potential at Plymouth Argyle.
Whittaker signed for Plymouth permanently last summer after helping the Devon club win promotion to the Championship in 2022-23 while on loan from Swansea. He started the campaign with purpose, scoring and assisting on the opening day in a 3-1 win over Huddersfield, and that strong individual form carried through the year as he helped Plymouth narrowly escape relegation, finishing 21st and one point above relegated Birmingham.
Whittaker, 23, finished with 19 goals from 46 matches (of which he started 45). He also chipped in with eight league assists, demonstrating his ability to create and score from either wing or central attacking midfield. Naturally, Plymouth have fielded attention from elsewhere this summer, with current boss Wayne Rooney describing a bid placed by Scottish Premiership side Rangers as “insulting” after Plymouth’s 4-0 opening-day defeat to Sheffield Wednesday, but no offer has tested their resolve.
For Premier League clubs, Whittaker ticks many boxes. First, he is not yet considered to be in his prime years but has enough of a track record behind him for clubs to feel confident he is ready to make the jump to the top flight. Like many players on this list, he is also on a relatively club-friendly wage, suggesting he will fit into Premier League wage structures even if he receives a considerable pay rise. With around two weeks remaining of the window, a club could be tempted into a move for Whittaker, whom Rooney has described as a “great talent”.
(Top photos: Getty Images)
