All 24 EFL Championship club's best striker ranked from worst to best | OneFootball

Who are the best strikers in the second tier of English football?

Every Championship team needs a talisman at the top end of the pitch to fire them to the Premier League - some clubs have the ability to spend more on that prolific goalscorer more than others though.

Some serious money has been spent over the years by clubs looking to reach the promised land, with the likes of Britt Assombalonga, Ross McCormack, Joel Piroe and Benik Afobe all moving for big money in the pursuit of promotion.

But out of the current crop of second tier strikers, who is the best and who is the worst out of every club's best number nine? FLW has a go at ranking them...

24 ? ? Miles Leaburn - Charlton Athletic

Charlton Athletic fans from the 80s and 90s held striker Carl Leaburn in high regard during his 11-year stint at The Valley, and some 24 years after his final appearance for the Addicks, his son - Miles - broke through to make his debut as well.

Standing at a towering 6ft 6in, Leaburn had a good first year in professional football with 12 League One goals in 2022-23, but he suffered with injury issues in his early professional years that perhaps stalled his development.

The 22-year-old only scored twice in the Championship last season, but he's seen as Nathan Jones' first-choice centre-forward, perhaps for his physicality rather than his goalscoring ability, and whilst there's still potential for Leaburn to develop, he's not really showing the signs right now that he's going to ever be prolific at second tier level.

23 ? ? Sam Dalby - Bolton Wanderers

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Having had to take a back seat to the likes of Paul Mullin and Ollie Palmer during Wrexham's rise from the National League, Sam Dalby had to branch out to Scotland to find his scoring boots, but that has worked a treat for him.

A 15-goal Scottish Premiership season with Dundee United in 2024-25 was a breakout year for Dalby, who ended up snubbing a new contract in North Wales to instead pen a four-year deal with Bolton Wanderers instead, with his 10 League One goals helping the Trotters over the line and back to the Championship.

The 26-year-old has scored a few early season second tier goals, but it remains to be seen if Dalby will be good enough to lead the line for the entirety of the campaign - Theo Bair has also arrived late on in the summer transfer window with a similar physical profile, but Steven Schumacher is perhaps missing a lynchpin type of centre-forward that offers his attack something different.

22 ? ? Mikkel Ladefoged - Lincoln City

Lincoln City have managed to keep the nucleus of their League One-winning side for their Championship mission, but they dipped into the European transfer market once more - just like they did last summer when bringing in the little-known Ukrainian midfielder Ivan Varfolomeev.

Whilst Varfolomeev will go about the pitch relatively unnoticed though, there's absolutely no mistaking the Imps' marquee signing of the summer 2026 transfer window in Mikkel Ladefoged, whose protracted transfer saga went through late on after a prolific stint in Sweden with Västerås.

The 6ft 8in Dane scored 19 goals across 29 league games at his previous club, which covered both the Allsvenskan and the Superettan (the top two divisions in Sweden), and given he stands at a whopping 6ft 8in, Ladefoged is going to cause some serious problems for Championship defenders - as Southampton recently found out.

The top level of Swedish football though is another level to the Championship, so the £4.2 million striker (if all add-ons are met) has to be low down on the list until he's fully proven himself.

21 ? ? Callum Lang - Preston North End

When Preston North End spent at least £1.75 million on Portsmouth forward Callum Lang on January transfer deadline day earlier in 2026, there was clear risks to the deal - mainly due to his history of injuries.

The Lilywhites took the gamble though, but he played just five times before suffering a season-ending problem against Oxford United, in which his hamstring was strained once more.

Thankfully, with a full pre-season under his belt, Lang looks sharper and has been in the goals for North End in the early stages of 2026-27, but there's always going to be a fear of his past issues resurfacing given how the last few years have gone.

And with his best goalscoring record at Championship level being 10 goals in 32 for Portsmouth in 2024-25 (four of those coming in one game against Coventry City), Lang may never be a prolific outlet at second tier level.

20 ? ? Marko Milovanovic - Portsmouth

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There will have been some serious shock among Portsmouth fans over the summer when they finally splashed the cash on a new striker, with Marko Milovanovic arriving from Almeria in Spain.

The 23-year-old Serbian was coming off the back of a half-decent campaign in Portugal's top flight on loan with Alverca, and he brings new-found height and strength to the Pompey attacking unit, standing at around the 6ft 4in mark.

'Marezi' still needs to adapt to the rigours of the Championship, but he's already found the back of the net for Pompey a few times - he'll have to do it more often to not only repay the reported €5 million fee, but to also rise on this list, but the early signs are promising.

19 ? ? George Hirst - Stoke City

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Big things have been expected of George Hirst ever since he was in Sheffield Wednesday's youth setup, but when it comes to scoring goals, he's not quite been able to find that prolific touch.

Even scoring 11 times in the Championship for Ipswich Town last season wasn't enough to keep him in contention for their Premier League squad - with Emersonn signed and Zian Flemming eventually arriving on deadline day, there was to be no room for the 27-year-old, who joined Stoke City in an initial £6 million deal.

The Potters have not had a good record with big-money strikers over the years - Hirst will be looking to break that trend, although his 19 big chances missed stat for Ipswich in the Championship last season will need to be cut down a lot if he's going to be a success.

18 ? ? Luca Kjerrumgaard - Watford

After spending 2025-26 on loan at Vicarage Road from Udinese, Luca Kjerrumgaard is a permanent Watford player, and a 10-goal haul in his first year in England was a satisfactory return.

The 23-year-old Dane gives the Hornets a physical presence at the top end of the pitch, and when defenders need to occupy him, the more creative flair players like Othmane Maamma and Rocco Vata may flourish if given the time and space.

There's still things for Kjerrumgaard to improve on, but given his age, he's got time on his side to become the 20-goal a season striker that Watford need - and what they've been missing since Troy Deeney led the line.

17 ? ? Andri Gudjohnsen - Blackburn Rovers

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Blackburn Rovers paid Gent €2 million last summer to sign Andri Gudjohnsen - the son of iconic Iceland international Eidur - and if he can stay fit, it looks like he may be a success in the Championship.

Life in Belgium didn't really work out for Gudjohnsen, but in his first year in England, he found the back of the net seven times in just 25 appearances, in a struggling Rovers side that didn't create an awful lot over the course of the campaign.

The 24-year-old also suffered with some injury issues that he will be hoping to shake off for his new manager Tony Mowbray, but early 2026-27 signs are encouraging for his goal rate, although he's not on the same level as his Premier League and Champions League-winning father, of course.

16 ? ? Patrick Bamford - Sheffield United

After 17 Championship appearances and no goals for Leeds United in 2024-25, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Patrick Bamford was coming to the end of his time as a useful outlet at the top end of the pitch at that level.

An unlikely call came from Chris Wilder though last season to bring Bamford to Sheffield United on a free transfer, and it's led to him rediscovering his goalscoring touch.

12 second tier goals in 28 appearances was certainly an impressive record, but at the age of 33 now, it remains to be seen how much Bamford has left in the tank - this is however a player that in the 2020-21 season plundered in 17 goals for Leeds in the Premier League, so with the right services, the goals are most definitely there.

15 ? ? Josh Coburn - Millwall

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Millwall fans would've expected Mihailo Ivanovic to be leading the line at The Den by now, but he's been usurped by the physical presence of Josh Coburn at the head of Alex Neil's attacking unit.

Eyebrows were raised in 2024 when the Lions splashed out on a £5 million deal for Coburn, who hadn't created much of a prolific scoring record at Championship level at Middlesbrough.

Injury problems in his first year in South Bermondsey didn't make the deal look so good at all, but Coburn came to life in the second half of 2025-26 after some fitness issues once again, scoring nine goals in his 26 outings last season in the league.

Providing he can stay fit for Alex Neil, Coburn should be a force in the Championship based on his physicality, and he suits the style of play down to a tee - but there's definitely more prolific number nines in the division.