The Championship has long been a breeding ground for Premier League talent; one only needs to look at the current top-flight stars for confirmation of that. A slew of current England internationals originally cut their teeth in the second tier, with the likes of Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers and Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton both plying their trade in the division as recently as 2024. Going further back, Three Lions such as Eberechi Eze, Ollie Watkins, and Jarrod Bowen were all Championship footballers.
So, with such illustrious names in mind, which current second-tier stars are poised to follow in their footsteps and secure a move to the top level of the English football pyramid? Well, with the January transfer window now open, the rumor mill is currently in overdrive. Here are the names currently being tipped to seal a move to the Premier League in the next few weeks.
Jeremy Monga
What a miserable 18 months or so it has been for Leicester City. The Foxes were famously crowned Premier League champions a decade ago, despite the fact that online betting sites had them listed as 5000/1 outsiders. Last season, however, they were shockingly relegated, and their return to the Championship has been similarly miserable. As we head into the second half of the season, the East Midlands side currently sits in 12th place in the table, and the latest Bovada soccer odds make them a 250/1 to secure an immediate return to the top flight.
But despite the fact that their dream of an immediate Premier League return is seemingly dead in the water, there has been one bright spark. That, of course, is the emergence of a slew of young talent who seem poised and ready to lead Leicester into the future. 21-year-old Ghanaian winger Abdul Fatawu has been the star of the show, but it’s teenager Jeremy Monga who is currently being courted by some of the biggest names, not just in England, but also in Europe.
The prodigy shot to prominence last season when he became the Foxes’ youngest-ever player, making his debut at just 15. Now 16, the young winger has impressed in his 18 appearances so far this season, triggering an all-out war between the Premier League’s biggest names.
Two of the “Big Six” recently did battle on the pitch, with Tottenham hosting Liverpool and the hosts slipping to a 2-1 defeat. Now, the two clubs seem poised to do battle in the transfer market, and just as was the case in November, it’s Arne Slot’s Reds who have been positioned as the frontrunner to secure Monga’s signature. The reigning Premier League champions have endured a miserable time of it so far this season, and they now sit 14 points behind table-topping Arsenal.
The addition of young Monga is unlikely to change that immediately, but he would certainly add to Liverpool’s long list of young prospects. However, with European heavyweights such as Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain also thought to be sniffing around, the race for his signature won’t be an easy one to win.
Bobby Thomas
While Leicester may well have toiled this season, one team that certainly hasn’t is Coventry City. Frank Lampard’s Sky Blues currently top the second-tier standings courtesy of a run of just one defeat in their first 18 games. Across the last two months, their form has dipped somewhat, winning just twice since the start of December, but they still hold a six-point lead at the Championship summit.
One man who has been crucial to Coventry’s plans is Bobby Thomas, but will the highly rated central defender see the job through until the end of the season? The jury is most certainly out.
The 24-year-old is reportedly being courted by Brentford, a team that has enjoyed plenty of success with signing Championship players in recent years. Keane Lewis-Potter is without a doubt the biggest success story, and Thonas would surely follow in his footsteps in becoming a mainstay both in the Bees’ first team and the Premier League as a whole.
Žan Vipotnik
West Ham United’s seemingly never-ending striker crisis continues. The Hammers have forked out an absolute fortune in recent years, bringing in the likes of Niclas Fullkrug, Gianluca Scamacca, and Sebastien Haller, none of whom have managed to deliver anywhere near the number of goals that one would expect considering their lofty transfer fees. This month, the East London side has made moves again, signing Taty Castellanos from Lazio and unbelievably paying £21.8m to sign Brazilian Pablo Felipe from Portuguese outfit Gil Vicente, a man who cost just £250k in the summer.
If the rumors are to be believed, the Hammers aren’t finished there. Swansea City’s Žan Vipotnik is also rumored to be a potential target, having scored 12 goals in all competitions for the Swans this term. The highly reputable Transfermarkt values the Slovakian international at around £4m, and it remains to be seen whether West Ham will overpay once again in a bid to add some much-needed firepower to their impotent front line.