Top 10 Championship Stars

jonjoward1998
Dec 30, 2025
7 min read

Making the step up from the Championship to the Premier League is never easy because the difference in quality is huge and players don't get the time on the ball they had in the Championship.

But there have however been a lot of players who have made the step up look pretty straightforward and have gone on to prove and establish themselves as Premier League players.

The majority of players who have come up from the Championship have been classed as "too good for the Championship" and they've proved that in the Premier League by performing week in week out for their club sides.

To make the step up from the Championship to the Premier League, you need to have the right mentality and be confident because you want to believe that you're good enough and belong at this level.

The names in the list are a mixture of players who have been promoted to the Premier League with their respective clubs and players who have been signed from Championship clubs.

Anyone could've made list as there are a lot of names that didn't make the cut like Ivan Toney, Riyad Mahrez and even Bryan Mbeumo, all of whom could've been included.

Now without further ordo, here is the list:

James Maddison

Ollie Watkins

Andy Johnson

Kalvin Phillips

Charlie Adam

Troy Deeney

Jarrod Bowen

Kevin Phillips

Rickie Lambert

Jamie Vardy

Kalvin Phillips

Phillips was part of the Leeds side that came up under Marcelo Bielsa in 2020 and he was an integral part of it too due to his ability to dictate play in midfield.

He was at the heart of everything Leeds did during that season by playing in that quarterback role and spraying passes everywhere on the pitch, and Leeds were a better team when he was on the pitch.

He was called up for England before he even played in the Premier League after playing an integral role during their promotion campaign and he went on to star for England at the Euros the following the summer as they reached the final.

But I had to have him at no.10 because that first season was the only good season he had as his career declined massively ever since due to injuries, lack of game time at Man City and loss of form following two poor loan spells at West Ham and Ipswich.

Rickie Lambert

Lambert came up with Southampton in 2012 and immediately proved himself as a Premier League player by scoring 15 goals in his first season as the Saints stayed up before scoring 13 the following campaign.

He went on some journey before making it to the Premier League having started out in the lower divisions of the Football League playing for the likes of Blackpool, Macclesfield, Stockport, Rochdale and Bristol Rovers before joining Southampton when they were in League 1.

After proving himself as a Premier League player in his first season, he later earned himself an England call up and even scored in his debut against Scotland in 2013 before going on to play at the 2014 World Cup.

He also got himself his dream move to Liverpool following his two season at Southampton which unfortunately didn't work out as he didn't suit the way they played and scored just 2 Premier League goals.

Charlie Adam

Adam came up with Blackpool in 2010 and made the step up in to the Premier League straight away by scoring 12 goals. But they weren't enough to help the Seasiders avoid relegation.

He was so good during that season that he earned himself a move to Liverpool which unfortunately for him didn't work out as as he wasn't the calibre of player to play for a club of that size.

He left Liverpool after just one season to join Stoke where he felt more at home in that he was at a club which was more on his level and where he could establish himself as a Premier League player..

He was a midfielder who had incredible vision to pick out any kind pass and was also a brilliant striker of the ball from distance as he showed when he scored that goal against Chelsea from inside his own half when he was at Stoke.

Andy Johnson

Johnson won promotion to the Premier League with Crystal Palace in 2004 and had an incredible debut season by scoring 21 goals despite Palace ending up relegated that season.

He surprisingly stayed at Palace in the Championship the following season before returning to the Premier League with Everton a season later.

He proved himself as a Premier League player again by scoring 11 goals in his debut season at Everton which was a decent return for a player at a club of that size.

He struggled to replicate that form the following season as he found the net just 6 times before spells at Fulham and QPR where he also struggled due to injuries and lack of form.

Troy Deeney

Deeney came up with Watford in 2015 and proved himself as a Premier League player straight away by scoring 13 goals in his debut season as Watford finished 13th.

He went on to establish himself as a Premier League over the next few seasons as Watford established themselves as a Premier League club despite their constant chopping and changing of managers.

He was a tough striker to play against on his day as he was big, strong, physical, good in the air and could score a variety of goals.

I think he was one of those players who was overlooked for England because he was a consistent goal scorer throughout his time at Watford but never got a look in even when other English strikers were not in good form or playing regularly.

Kevin Phillips

Phillips won the golden boot in his first season in the Premier League by scoring 30 goals for Sunderland in the 1999/00 season after winning promotion with them the season before.

He formed a prolific partnership with Niall Quinn during his time at Sunderland and especially during their first Premier League season as the goals the pair of them scored played a key role in them finishing 7th.

He didn't quite his the same numbers in the following seasons, but he still established himself as a Premier League goal scorer over the next few seasons as he he hit double figures in four of the next five seasons with Sunderland and Southampton respectively before less productive spells at Aston Villa and Birmingham.

He was a striker who was always in the right place to score goals due to his first class movement and ability to get into the right positions to score goals.

Jarrod Bowen

Bowen joined West Ham in January 2020 after two clinical seasons-and-a-half at Hull and has since grown into one of the best attacking players in the Premier League.

He's now the Hammers' talisman and club captain and he has grown into the former over the last few seasons as he's hit double figures for goals in four of the last five seasons and has also effectively carried the team all by himself with the goals he's scored and the performances he's put in.

He's certainly been doing that for the last year or so as he's been one of the Hammers' very few shining lights and I'm not sure where they would be without his goals and other contributions.

He's been their only shining light so far this season in what has been a difficult campaign for the Hammers and if they're to stay up, they'll need him on top of his game.

Ollie Watkins

Watkins joined Aston Villa the season after losing in the Championship play off final with Brentford in a season where he scored 21 goals.

His move to Villa saw him reunited with Dean Smith who he worked under at Brentford and he instantly made the step up into the Premier League by scoring 14 goals including a 4-goal blitz against Liverpool in the game Villa won 7-2.

He has since established himself as one of the best strikers in the Premier League and especially since Unai Emery took over at Villa as his game has improved immensely under him.

He's also established himself as a regular in the England squad and as Harry Kane's back up striker and he'll be hoping to be that player again in the summer at the World Cup.

James Maddison

Maddison joined Leicester from Norwich as an exciting young talent in the summer of 2018 and he immediately proved himself as a Premier League player with his ability to create and score goals.

He went on to establish himself as one of the best attacking midfielders in the Premier League when he was at Leicester as he added more end product to his game in terms of goals and assists and his numbers for both improved season after season.

He carried the Foxes for the entirety of their relegation season in 2023 by being arguably their only shining light and the only player willing to step up whenever they needed someone to.

He's showed glimpses of his abilities since he's been at Spurs but not quite on a regular basis due to a mixture of injuries and lack of form.

He's currently out with an ACL injury which is such a shame for him and especially with this being a World Cup year.

Jamie Vardy

Vardy had to be my no.1 because of the journey he's been on and what he's gone on to achieve since.

He started out at non-league Stocksbridge Park Steels before spells at Halifax and Fleetwood before joining Championship Leicester in 2012 after guiding Fleetwood to the Football League.

He won promotion with Leicester in 2014 and the career he went on to have from that point onwards was truly remarkable as he went on to win the Premier League in 2016, the FA Cup in 2021, a Premier League golden boot in 2020, score 145 Premier League goals and earn 26 England caps.

He went on to establish himself as one of the best strikers in the Premier League in the seasons following Leicester's title winning season in 2016 where his goals played a major role.

His pace used to terrify defenders when he was in his prime and even when he approached the twilight years of his career which was truly remarkable.

He was one of those players who got better with age as he adapted his game as he got older by saving his pace for the moment when it was needed most.

MY TOP 10: