It’s common to see players make a summer move from the Championship to the Premier League, with many in the top flight having enjoyed spells in the EFL earlier in their careers.
We’ve already seen players such as Jaden Philogene, Jacob Greaves, Archie Gray and Nathan Wood move from the second tier to the Premier League this summer, while last season’s Championship top scorer Sammie Szmodics is also rumoured to be making the jump soon.
Here, we’ve picked seven Championship players who will be on the radar of Premier League clubs this summer and given justification for that transfer interest through data-led insights.
Crysencio Summerville
Leeds United
Undoubtedly one of the most talented players in the Championship, Summerville’s goals and assists helped Leeds make the 2023-24 playoff final before suffering heartache at Wembley to Southampton.
Only Adam Armstrong (37) and Szmodics (31) were involved in more goals than Summerville (29), while the Dutch forward averaged 0.64 expected goals and expected assists combined – more than any other player to play at least 2,500 minutes in the Championship last season.
He created 120 chances for his teammates overall, which was the fourth highest total in the Championship, and his expected assists total of 13.4 was higher than any other player in the league.
Much of his threat came from running at opponents with the ball at his feet. No player was involved in more shots (100) or goals (12) following a ball carry than him in 2023-24, while he was one of only three players to be successful with at least 100 take-ons (101).
Jack Clarke
Sunderland
Clarke is a player who has already made a big money move to the Premier League in the past, but on that occasion, it didn’t work out. He transferred from Leeds to Tottenham Hotspur for £10 million in July 2019, but never made a Premier League appearance. Now, five years on, he’s clearly ready for another chance at playing top-flight football.
Arguably Sunderland’s best player across their two seasons of Championship football since returning in 2022, Clarke has been involved in more goals (40) than any other player at this level across that period. He leads the ranking for open-play chances created (155) in that time, and only Leif Davis (18), Ilias Chair and Sorba Thomas (both 17) registered more assists than him (16).
Still only 23 years old, no player created more chances following ball carries than Clarke (44) in the Championship last season, while only Summerville (100) was involved in more shots after carrying the ball than he was (98). He is a constant menace for opposition defenders, with more successful take-ons than any other Championship player last season (148) and his take-on success rate of 50% isn’t topped by any of the 25 players to attempt at least 120 in 2023-24.
Morgan Whittaker
Plymouth Argyle
Whittaker is one of the most exciting young players in the EFL, and it’s no shock that his name has been linked to a host of top-flight clubs since the start of last season.
Given limited playing time at Championship level at both Derby County and Swansea between 2019-20 and 2022-23, the winger was loaned to League One to find playing time – first at Lincoln in 2021-22 and then at Plymouth a season later.
With nine goals and seven assists in just 25 league appearances, Whittaker impressed enough for Plymouth to break their transfer record to sign him permanently last July. He wouldn’t disappoint.
Only Blackburn striker Szmodics (27) scored more non-penalty goals than Whittaker’s 19, while his 167 shots were the most in the competition last season – contributing to 28% of Plymouth’s shot tally in the league.
Overall, he either attempted or created 38.7% of Plymouth’s shots in the Championship last term, a higher proportion than any other player at a club. His average of 3.8 shots per 90 was historically high too – only two players with over 2,000 minutes of Championship action within a season have averaged more since 2019-20.
The 23-year-old will form a major part of Wayne Rooney’s side in Devon this season if the former England international has his way, but a big transfer offer from a Premier League club could be too tempting for Plymouth to refuse.
Dael Fry
Middlesbrough
Born and bred in Middlesbrough and having been at their academy since the age of seven, it might seem unlikely that 26-year-old Fry will ever leave the club. However, his performances over the last few seasons suggest that he could potentially make the step up to the Premier League from the Championship.
Playing as the right-sided central defender in Middlesbrough’s 4-2-3-1 formation last season, Fry impressed before his season ended in mid-February due to a hip injury. Strong in the challenge, only two defenders with 2,000+ minutes played in the Championship last season managed a superior duel success rate than Fry (69.8%) – Steve Cook (70.6%) and Cameron Burgess (70.7%) – while Fry was particularly strong in aerial duels winning 70.4% of the 115 he contested.
Fry is also adept at building play from defensive positions. He was one of only 12 defenders to play at least 2,000 minutes of action last season and complete over 60 passes per 90 on average while maintaining at least 88% passing accuracy (60.3, 89.5%).
Now an experienced Championship player having made 224 appearances at this level, Fry is among the best defenders in the second tier and could be a good squad option for Premier League clubs looking to fill their homegrown quotas.
Carlton Morris
Luton Town
Admittedly, we’re cheating a little, here. Morris was a Premier League player last season and has already proved that he can cut it in the top flight with some impressive performances before Luton Town’s relegation back to the Championship.
The 28-year-old is an intelligent forward who can drop deep to help his side in build-up but is equally a strong target man. He played every single game for Luton in the Premier League last season – the only outfielder to do so – and finished with 11 league goals to end as their top league goalscorer for the second season running.
In his first season at Luton, Morris scored 20 times in the 2022-23 Championship on their way to promotion becoming the first Luton player to reach 20 league goals in a second-tier campaign since Brian Stein in 1981-82 (21).
Should Luton keep him for another season, there’s every chance that he would be an ideal pick to be the Championship’s top scorer in 2024-25.
Angus Gunn
Norwich City
It would be remiss of us to not include a goalkeeper in this list, right? Norwich City may have failed to regain their Premier League status in the last two seasons following their top-flight relegation in 2021-22, but they have arguably the top-performing number one across those two campaigns.
Across 6,421 minutes of Championship football since the start of 2022-23, Gunn has conceded 85 goals (excluding own goals) from shots worth 99.5 expected goals on target (xGOT). This means that his goals prevented total of 14.5 is better than any other Championship goalkeeper over those two seasons, outperforming Viktor Johansson, who has just left Rotherham for Stoke City.
The Canaries’ goalkeeper has proved dependable with just one error leading to an opposition goal across his 72 league appearances over 2022-23 and 2023-24.
Gunn might not have enjoyed his summer with Scotland’s Euro 2024 group-stage exit, but it shows that he’s used to playing against some of the best players in the world – something that would stand him in good stead should a Premier League club be on the lookout for a goalkeeper.
Yáser Asprilla
Watford
Watford have made good money from player sales in recent years, with the departures of Cucho Hernández, João Pedro, Ismaïla Sarr and Ismaël Koné all bringing in welcome profit. There’s every chance that 20-year-old Asprilla will be the next to go, with links to Everton and Arsenal in this transfer window, while Sporting CP, Borussia Dortmund and Al-Ittihad are also said to be interested.
Asprilla excited Watford fans with his excellent vision and close control last season, as he played his second Championship season at the club and improved greatly across that time. Only three players at the club played more league minutes than him last season (2,735) while he was their leading assist maker (7) and chance creator (75).
Among all midfielders and forwards to play at least 2,000 minutes in the Championship in 2023-24, only Southampton’s Stuart Armstrong (5.7) averaged more progressive passes than the Colombian (5.1), showing his willingness to try and move the ball forward and provoke dangerous attacks.
Asprilla was part of the Colombia squad as they reached the final of the 2024 Copa America this summer but was only given 18 minutes of action across the tournament. Expect him to be a big player for his national side in years to come, however.
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