Ryan Sessegnon won’t forget Sunday night’s EFL awards ceremony in a hurry. He was crowned the Championship player of the season, young player of the season and apprentice of the season, as well as earning his place in the team of the season and the club-developed XI. The Fulham teenager’s clean sweep came just a few days after he had been nominated for the PFA’s young player of the year award, the first player from outside of the top flight to be shortlisted. These remarkable achievements suggest the 17-year-old is a genuine superstar in the making, but he is not the only exciting talent in the Championship.
Rúben Neves, 21, Wolves
The central player in Wolves’ promotion, Rúben Neves was among the favourites to win the Championship player of the year award. He has lived up to his reputation this season after a remarkable transfer from Porto. A full Portugal international with Champions League experience, the midfielder only turned 21 a few weeks ago but has looked like a big fish in a small pond at times this season.
He has controlled games from a deep-lying position in the Wolves midfield, ranking fourth for passes in the league (66.5 per 90 minutes). His range of passing has been essential to the team’s approach of switching the play to wing-backs who bomb forwards. Neves has completed more accurate long balls (8.9 per 90 minutes) than any other outfield player and he has scored six goals from outside the box – again the most in the division.
Diogo Jota, 21, Wolves
Young attacking players tend to be rotated, particularly given the gruelling schedule of Championship football, but Diogo Jota has started 40 of Wolves’ 43 league games so far this season. His job is to stretch opposition defences on the counter-attack and drift infield and beyond the central striker when he is played on the left. The ploy has worked time and again for Wolves.
No Wolves player has scored as many goals (16), taken as many shots (2.9 per 90 minutes) or completed as many successful dribbles (2.6 per 90 minutes) as the 21-year-old Portuguese forward. Jota has been on loan from Atlético Madrid this season but he will sign a permanent deal in the summer.
Jack Grealish, 22, Aston Villa
Aston Villa fans have been waiting for Jack Grealish to provide this season for years. Still just 22, the playmaker is now the team’s most integral attacking player. He is relishing the extra responsibility and faith he has received from Steve Bruce. Grealish is vilified by many and is often targeted by opposition players and fans, but he is the hero Villa supporters have needed: the local lad leading the club’s bid to return to the top flight with increasing maturity and no little style.
Physically, he has made great strides this season. He has a rare ability to protect the ball while under pressure and retain possession in advanced areas. His passing has also improved. He completed 35.9 successful passes every 90 minutes last season; that figure is now up to 53.4 this season, with an impressive 85.1% accuracy. He has hit career-high stats across the board, including shots (2.3 per 90 minutes) and dribbles (3.3 per 90 minutes). Grealish is now looking like the real deal on a consistent basis.
Adama Traoré, 22, Middlesbrough
Speaking of players who have matured this season, Adama Traoré has been too hot to handle for most full-backs since the turn of the year. Few would have predicted that Tony Pulis would be the manager to get the best out of him, but the winger has improved dramatically this season.
Given his running power and ridiculous dribbling figures, Traoré could be considered a greedy player but that would be an unfair way to describe the 22-year-old. His decision-making has been a problem in the past but that is beginning to change and he is starting to have a real impact at Middlesbrough. He registered his seventh and eighth assists of the season in a crucial win over Bristol City at the weekend. He’s had a direct hand in 13 league goals this season (scoring five and setting up eight) which is a very decent return given he has just started just 23 games. There’s no escaping those dribble stats either; his bamboozling record of 9.6 dribbles per 90 minutes is five more than any other regular starter in the league.
Ollie Watkins, 22, Brentford
Even though he has scored 10 goals from the left wing this season, Ollie Watkins could also improve his end product. The 22-year-old drifts in from the flank and isn’t shy about chancing his arm from distance, firing off the most shots at goal in the league (134) by some margin. While his confidence in advanced areas is a strength, the ability to make the right choice when it matters is what separates the genuine stars from the hot prospects.
Watkins has all the physical tools to make the step up to the Premier League. He has pace, strength and balance in abundance, but needs to work on his contribution off the ball. He has won eight of our man of the match awards this season and will have a big future if he can find some consistency.
James Maddison, 21, Norwich City
Like Watkins, Maddison is in his first full season in the Championship. It looks likely to be his last too, with a number of Premier League clubs circling. He deserves the attention. The 21-year-old has had a direct hand in 22 goals for Norwich this season – a tally only Bristol City’s Bobby Reid (24) can better.
The only player to rank among the top 10 in the division for both goals (14) and assists (eight), the young Englishman has flourished in the No10 role, where he has been afforded more space and responsibility following the sale of Alex Pritchard. Maddison’s contributions have almost always won the Canaries points too. If you took away his goals and assists, Norwich would be 26 points worse off this season, which doesn’t bode well given the likelihood he will move on in the summer.
(The Guardian)
