Cardiff City pair join Leeds United, Leicester, Ipswich sextet in Championship XI of the season so far
14 games is more than enough to justify a Championship XI of the season that is (shock) dominated by Leeds United, Leicester City and Ipswich Town players.
This XI is based on WhoScored‘s player ratings…
GK: Vaclav Hladky (Ipswich Town)
Ipswich were dealt a blow just before the new campaign started as last season’s number-one goalkeeper – Christian Walton – suffered an injury that will supposedly keep him out for “quite a while”.
Thankfully for Kieran McKenna, 32-year-old Hladky has slotted in nicely for the high-flyers and has already kept six clean sheets.
RB: Perry Ng (Cardiff City)
The talented full-back has carried on where he left off after winning Cardiff’s in-house Player of the Year award last season.
Cardiff appear to have played a blinder by appointing Erol Bulut as they are currently sitting pretty in the play-off positions. Ng scoring in back-to-back league games will have certainly boosted his rating as he’s elbowed Leicester City’s Ricardo Pereira out of the starting XI.
CB: Dimitrios Goutas (Cardiff City)
While Ng has proven to be an unexpected goal threat, Cardiff’s strong start to the season has been built on their defensive solidarity.
Goutas – who has formed a great partnership with Mark McGuinness – has helped the Welsh outfit keep five clean sheets already this term as he’s slotted in perfectly following his move from Turkish side Sivasspor on a free transfer in the summer.
CB: Jannik Vestergaard (Leicester City)
Enzo Maresca is pretty spoilt for choice in the centre-back department (as he is in most positions) but Vestergaard has only missed one game while Conor Coady and Callum Doyle have suffered their respective injury issues.
Leicester City are superior to their Championship rivals in pretty much every department. Vestergaard is helping them lead the defensive charts as the best backline in the league has only conceded eight goals in 14 matches.
LB: Leif Davis (Ipswich Town)
Ipswich pulled off a major coup when they snatched Davis from fellow Championship side Leeds United for around £1m and the 23-year-old has been loving life at Portman Road.
After being named in last season’s League One Team of the Season, the full-back – like his talented team – have enjoyed a dream start following his return to the Championship.
CM: Gabriel Sara (Norwich City)
The Canaries splashed out £6m to snatch Sara from Brazilian outfit Sao Paulo last summer and he was one of their few standout performers in what was a disappointing campaign in 2022/23.
Sara has carried on where he left off from last term, with the deep-lying playmaker involved in nine goals in just 14 games. He’s on for quite a season if this form continues.
CM: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (Leicester City)
Having previously shone for Luton Town at this level, Dewsbury-Hall was expected to fire Leicester to promotion this season and he looks on track to do just that. Five goals and six assists in 14 outings is a great return for a player who has successfully stepped out from under the shadow of James Maddison and Harvey Barnes.
RW: Crysencio Summerville (Leeds United)
There was a mass overhaul at Leeds United in the summer. They offloaded a lot of dead wood ahead of their return to the Championship but they did bloody well to keep Summerville.
Linked with clubs in the Premier League and around Europe, Summerville is spearheading Leeds United’s promotion push as he’s just short of averaging one goal involvement per game from his eleven appearances. Silly stats from a player who is too good for this level.
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CAM: Morgan Whittaker (Plymouth Argyle)
Newly-promoted Plymouth pushed the boat out this summer and spent around £2m combined to sign Whittaker and Bali Mumba from Swansea City and Norwich City respectively.
This level of investment could have easily gone awry but the Plymouth newbies have fitted in right away to contribute to their strong start under Steven Schumacher. Whittaker in particular is an early contender for signing of the season after grabbing an impressive six goals and three assists in 14 games.
LW: Jack Clarke (Sunderland)
The former Tottenham and Leeds player can consider himself unlucky that he is not currently playing in the Premier League after he was one of the best players in the Championship last season.
Linked with Burnley and Crystal Palace in the summer, Clarke has not let those failed moves get him down and has kicked on in the early weeks of this season. If Sunderland do not make a fortune on the winger in January, he should be a leading contender for Player of the Year in the Championship.
ST: Georginio Rutter (Leeds United)
A few eyebrows were raised when Leeds United splashed out £36m (add-ons included) to sign Rutter from Bundesliga side Hoffenheim in January.
Rutter endured a miserable few months at Elland Road but the 21-year-old is now starting to show why Leeds chose to bring him in. He has already produced a couple of star-making performances this term and he is fast becoming a fan favourite. A lot can change in a few months.
