10 players too good for EFL League One | OneFootball

These 10 players should be playing in the Championship, or even higher, instead of League One

Putting it simply, there's a lot of talent in League One this season.

The third tier this season has come under scrutiny at times this year for not having multiple sides able to hit the performance levels that we saw in the 2022/23 campaign, or last season, for example.

No one's going to break the points record that Birmingham City did last season, nor will 5th-place finish on 84 points like Wycombe Wanderers did. And we definitely won't be seeing a 96-point tally achieved, but not even guaranteeing automatic promotion, as was the case with Sheffield Wednesday a few years ago.

But that doesn't mean that, individually, there aren't a plethora of players who you look at and think, 'they should be playing in the Championship at least.'

This is an incredibly difficult list to whittle down, but here are 10 players Football League World thinks are too good for League One.

This is in no particular order and doesn't include any players on loan from sides in the Premier League and the Championship.

1 ? ? Calum Chambers

I don't think it's controversial to say that a centre-back once signed for £16 million as a 19-year-old by Arsenal, who would go on to make 181 Premier League appearances and be capped by England, is too good for the third tier, so we're kicking off the list with one of the less contentious choices.

Calum Chambers only dropped into the Championship from the top flight last year but suffered an immediate relegation to League One. With new manager Brian Barry-Murphy opting for a more youth-centred approach, many were expecting Chambers, who is just in his early thirties, to perhaps depart for pastures new.

In the end, he stayed, and the former FA Cup winner has proven his class and top-flight qualities in South Wales, as Cardiff City look a shoo-in to return to the Championship.

His stats may not be as eye-catching as others, as he spent time on the bench to make room for Dylan Lawlor and Gabe Osho (two honourable mentions on this list), but the control that the Bluebirds have in games is there to see when their captain is in the backline.

2 ? ? Rubin Colwill

I've tried to limit these to just one player per team, but with the amount of quality Cardiff has across the squad, it's difficult to omit so many. There are only two from Brian Barry-Murphy's side, though, and Rubin Colwill is the second.

The 23-year-old has already amassed over 180 appearances for the side he came through the academy at, the majority of which were in the Championship, and this one season in League One has shown why he deserves to be back in the second-tier sooner rather than later.

He's currently in the midst of the best scoring season in his career, despite missing close to three months with an ankle injury, and his return has given the Bluebirds a needed boost to pull away from the chasing pack below them.

Cardiff fans will be hoping that he can help them catch up with Lincoln City and win the title, but regardless, he'll be in the Championship next season, you feel.

3 ? ? Jack Moylan

And to complete the trilogy of 'players too good for League One, but it's okay because they'll be playing in the Championship next season anyway for their current clubs' is Lincoln's Jack Moylan.

A relative unknown on the big stage before this season, or even 2026, having netted just twice in 28 League One games last year, and beginning the campaign by missing three months due to an ankle operation, he's been the driving force for Lincoln's surge up to the top spot recently.

The 24-year-old is in the top 5% of attacking midfielders in League One for shots and shots on target this season, and that's despite playing 10–15 games fewer than the majority of those he's competing with.

Moylan is a joy to watch for the neutral, and Championship fans will have to get used to him pretty soon, with Lincoln all but promoted in what has been an incredible campaign at Sincil Bank.

4 ? ? Aaron Connolly

Aaron Connolly had so much potential coming out of the Brighton academy, but injuries, inconsistencies and being unable to settle at the numerous clubs he's played for since leaving the Amex saw him fall into League One this season with Leyton Orient.

However, this year, the 26-year-old has shown that this was too drastic a fall and that he's good enough to be playing in the second tier at least.

The Irishman was a shoo-in for the league's Golden Boot through the opening half of the campaign before a quad injury sidelined him in December, and he's actually yet to return in 2026.

In the end, the top scorer may end up being his strike partner, Dom Ballard, which has led many Orient fans to wonder what their strike partnership may entail next season. That is, if both are at the club.

5 ? ? Lewis Wing

Lewis Wing has arguably been too good for League One for the past four seasons now, since he was lining out for Wycombe, and this year, the Reading midfielder has somehow managed to take himself to the next level.

The 30-year-old is on target to register 10 goals and 10 assists from central midfield, but his excellence doesn't stop in attacking and creating. He covers defensive ground more than many do in his position, ranking number one in numerous defensive stats on Fotmob.

But you can't not talk about his goal catalogue, either. Arguably the best long-range specialist in England, let alone League One, it's a wonder that no Championship side has been testing Reading's resolve and trying to pry him away from the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

His age may limit his opportunities for a second-tier return now, unless he can make it with the Royals. If he does, it'll be more than deserved.

6 ? ? Ollie Norwood

It was a massive coup when newly-promoted Stockport County managed to persuade Championship promotion specialist Ollie Norwood to drop into League One last season, and despite turning 35 in April, he still possesses all the tools to be a complete midfielder at Championship level.

Norwood is arguably the most important player relative to the team they play for in the third tier today. Everything goes through him. He orchestrates the game, creates big chances, and has even chipped in with more goals this season than he has in his last seven.

The Northern Irishman has numerous Championship promotions under his belt, and if Stockport are to find themselves in the second tier soon enough, you can bet that Norwood will have more than a say in doing so.

7 ? ? David McGoldrick

Norwood is an example of someone dropping a level, perhaps due to age, but then realising that class is permanent, and becoming one of the best at that level despite how old he is.

David McGoldrick is that, and some. The 38-year-old netted 22 in his final League One campaign at Derby County at 35 years old, before returning home to Nottingham and riding off into the sunset at Notts County.

Ultimately, his two years in League Two proved he was still good enough to play in League One, and his first year back in the third tier at Barnsley has shown that he could still do a job in the Championship, remarkably enough.

The Irishman is currently enjoying some of the best form of his life in 2026, and won the third tier's Player of the Month in February, so this may be a slight bit of recency bias, and the likelihood that a team in the second tier would go for someone who's less than two years off 40 is very slim.

But, if it did happen, it'd be a move that no one would say would be a bad one, that's for sure.

8 ? ? Ryan Ledson

The Huddersfield Town squad is currently undergoing a bit of scrutiny from their fans due to perceived underperformance. The Terriers are still in with a shout of a top-six finish, but with the calibre of players they brought to the club in the summer, they had top-two expectations.

Ryan Ledson was one of those who dropped into League One with the hopes of making a swift return to the Championship, having spent the previous seven seasons in the second tier with Preston North End, and as an important player in the majority of them.

And while Huddersfield fans can have some gripes with the majority of their players, they can't with Ledson, who has quietly been one of the best defensive midfielders in the division this season.

At 28, the Terriers captain most definitely has more Championship years in him, and he'll be hoping he can lead his side into the play-offs to achieve them as soon as possible.

9 ? ? Jenson Metcalfe

Quite a few of the midfielders on this list are either in the final few years of their prime or are expected to be in the Championship next season, anyway.

And, while the latter cannot be ruled out for Bradford City's Jenson Metcalfe, the 21-year-old still has the entirety of his career ahead of him and plenty of time to realise his potential and become a second-tier, or even Premier League, level middleman.

After beginning the campaign as a squad player at Valley Parade, the former Everton academy man has made the defensive midfield position his own, next to serial League One winner Max Power.

Metcalfe can easily make that jump, but he could also easily spend a couple of years cultivating himself into one of the very best in his position in League One at Bradford before then making the jump as a more rounded midfielder.

The future is bright, and it's an exciting time for the Bantams' youngster.

10 ? ? Lorent Tolaj

And finally, rounding off this list, Lorent Tolaj has been playing real-life career mode thus far, it seems, bouncing from the National League to League Two to League One in successive seasons.

The Plymouth Argyle frontman clearly has the skillset to make yet another step up in the upcoming summer, and he may end up doing it with the Pilgrims, who would have been dead and buried at the start of the season if not for his goals.

The 24-year-old's return from a muscle injury in his leg couldn't come quickly enough, especially given that we were given a glimpse of what he and Bim Pepple could do as a duo up front against Cardiff, both scoring braces in a 5-2 win over the Championship-bound Bluebirds.