The Championship has always been more than a bridge between the Premier League and League One. It is a league that rewards durability, physical resilience, individual brilliance and the ability to win ugly across 46 relentless matches.
For this ranking, the key question is simple: how good were these players while actually playing in the Championship? That means Gareth Bale, Jude Bellingham, Jack Grealish and others deserve mentions, but they are judged on their second-tier impact rather than what they became afterwards. Opta notes that nearly 5,000 players had appeared in the Championship since its 2004 rebrand by 2024, including future Champions League final players such as Bale, Bellingham, Grealish, Harry Kane and Riyad Mahrez.
10. Jarrod Bowen: The Returning Candidate
Jarrod Bowen already has a strong Championship case before a ball is kicked for West Ham this season. During his Hull City spell, Sky Sports records him as scoring 52 goals and providing 12 assists in 117 Championship games, numbers that already make him one of the division’s most productive wide forwards of the modern era.
His 2019/20 output was particularly impressive because Hull collapsed after his January departure, yet Bowen still finished as their leading scorer across all competitions with 17 goals, while also leading Hull in Championship assists with seven, shots with 103 and successful dribbles with 51.
Now the debate gets spicy. West Ham’s relegation has brought Bowen back to the Championship as a 29-year-old England international and club captain, and Sky Sports reports that he adjusted his contract on 17 July 2026 to commit to West Ham’s 2026/27 promotion push. The Standard also reports that West Ham begin the season as Championship title favourites, with Bowen heading the top-scorer betting market at around 5/1 to 6/1 as of 11 August.
Could he become the best ever? Yes, but only with a truly absurd season. If Bowen produces 25-plus goals, double-digit assists, wins promotion and dominates big matches from the right flank, the conversation becomes real. If he simply has a very good season, he probably joins the elite tier rather than passing…..
