Exclusive: Don Goodman names the two best EFL Championship strikers he's ever seen | OneFootball

Don Goodman has named Aleksandar Mitrovic and Jamie Vardy as the two best strikers to play in the Championship.

The Championship has long been a proving ground for some of the finest strikers in English football, with the league showcasing a blend of seasoned veterans and emerging talent.

From the ruthless finishing of Billy Sharp, Jordan Rhodes, and Teemu Pukki to the craftsmanship of Ross McCormack, and more recently the rise of Josh Sargent, England's second tier has consistently delivered strikers who light up the league.

One man who knows what it takes is Don Goodman, with over 160 goals in 586 career appearances. Speaking exclusively to Football League World, the former striker turned Sky Sports pundit was asked to name the two greatest strikers to play in the Championship, and he went straight for two modern-day EFL icons.

Don Goodman names Aleksandar Mitrovic & Jamie Vardy as Championship's best

"I think the road we have to go down in terms of the greatest strikers in the Championship is that of anyone who scored the most goals in a season, which, as we know, was Aleksandar Mitrovic," said Goodman.

"Over the course of that season, the man just could not miss; he was scoring with all different types of finishes."

Following their relegation from the Premier League, Fulham stormed to the Championship title, scoring a whopping 106 goals along the way, with 43 of these belonging to Mitrovic.

Finishing the season with 14 goals more than Bournemouth's Dominic Solanke, the towering Serb wrapped up the Golden Boot with ease. His nearest Fulham teammate in terms of goals was Harry Wilson, who finished the season with 10 in the second tier.

Goodman went on to name another player who has become an icon not just in the Championship, but up and down the English pyramid.

"Then, how can you not love the Jamie Vardy story?" He added. "It goes beyond the Championship as well. He obviously scored the goals to get them to the Premier League, and then he broke records in the Premier League."

Making 500 appearances for Leicester before his departure at the end of the 2024/25 term, the rapid forward netted 200 times for the Foxes, with 38 Championship goals complementing his 145 strikes in the Premier League.

Vardy was picked out of non-league in 2011 by Fleetwood after scoring 26 times in 37 appearances for Halifax Town, before signing for Leicester a year later.

"It's an incredible story for any young player who hasn't quite made it," added Goodman. "To know to never give up, because you never know where your journey is going to finish."

Aleksandar Mitrovic the powerhouse and Jamie Vardy the underdog

When it comes to the profiling of Mitrovic and Vardy as forwards, the pair could not be more different.

Mitrovic, a towering presence blessed with a fantastic touch and hold-up ability, compared to Vardy's Bulldog-like approach, with his pace and energy seeing him be a nightmare for defenders week in and week out. Both, though, have the incredible knack of knowing where the back of the net is.

After a hit-and-miss period with Newcastle, Mitrovic joined Fulham on loan in January 2018 and spearheaded a resurgent side under Slavisa Jokanovic that went on to go 23 matches unbeaten on their way to promotion.

The Serb would find the back of the net 111 times in a Fulham shirt before his move to Al-Hilal in 2023; 85 of these would come in the Championship before his 14-goal return in the 2022/23 Premier League season helped Fulham settle down into the mid-table region of the top flight.

The story of Vardy, though, is simply incredible. Released as a teenager by Sheffield Wednesday, he rebuilt his career in non-league before eventually working his way back up the ladder to Leicester.

After originally finding life in the Championship difficult, Vardy would net 16 goals and register 10 assists in the Foxes' 2013/14 promotion campaign, before becoming a household name in the Premier League.

After Leicester secured their Premier League safety in 2015, they would go on to achieve greatness by becoming champions of England just a year later. Vardy was at the centre of this, with the forward etching himself into the history books by breaking Ruud van Nistelrooy's 10-match goalscoring run against Manchester United of all clubs.

Playing across all three European competitions, lifting the FA Cup, and scoring 200 goals for the Foxes, Vardy undoubtedly goes down as one of English football's most iconic.

He would score a further 18 goals in the Championship following relegation in 2023 to take his tally to 38, followed by nine in the Premier League as Leicester limped towards the second tier again.

His impact stretched further than the Championship, but when it comes to his ability as a striker, he is absolutely among the best to do it in the second tier.