The top 8 most valuable EFL Championship strikers in 2026/27 | OneFootball

Who are the most valuable centre-forwards in the second tier of English football?

The EFL transfer window is now closed for another summer, with plenty of big money being thrown about in the second tier of English football.

Although unlike some years in the past, the biggest deals haven't always naturally come for centre-forwards though, who are the game-changers at the top end of the pitch who can fire clubs into the promised land of the Premier League.

But who are the most valuable strikers in the second tier of English football for 2026-27?

Here, FLW takes a look at the EIGHT centre-forwards in the Championship with the highest market valuations, as worked out by Transfermarkt.

8 ? ? George Hirst - Stoke City

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Stoke City were one of the biggest spenders - if not the biggest - in the Championship this summer, with the changing of the financial rules in the summer coming in handy for the Coates Family's investment levels.

And aside from the early summer window addition of Swansea City midfielder Ethan Galbraith, the marquee attacker addition of the period was Ipswich Town's George Hirst.

Once a promising teen with Sheffield Wednesday, Hirst took a while to get settled in senior football, with his 2021-22 League One campaign on loan at Portsmouth being the first signs he could become a good centre-forward, but his first decent Championship return came last year with 11 goals in 42 Ipswich Town outings.

Given the Tractor Boys' ambitions though, Hirst was not set to get a look-in at Portman Road in the Premier League this year, leading to his departure to the Potters for an initial £6 million - a price that could increase depending on his performances.

Transfermarkt value the 27-year-old at €10 million (£8.6 million), and to repay that fee and then some, he may have to knock in 15 goals a season and perhaps even get City back to the top flight.

7 ? ? Patrick Agyemang - Derby County

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Last summer, Derby County took a punt on Charlotte FC striker Patrick Agyemang, splashing out £5.8 million on the USA international - and the signs have been promising.

A 6ft 4in striker with pace and physical strength, Agyemang scored 10 goals in 37 Championship matches in his debut season, and he at times played out wide or played off the main centre-forward in the form of Carlton Morris.

Disaster struck though against Stoke City in April, when the 25-year-old was struck down with an achilles tendon rupture, which could put him on the sidelines until the end of 2026, and perhaps even into early next year.

It's an unknown as to how good he'll be on his return, but with a Transfermarkt valuation of €10 million (£8.6 million), like Hirst, he remains a valuable asset.

6 ? ? Joel Piroe - West Ham

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West Ham have no fewer than three centre-forwards in the top eight most valuable Championship strikers, with Joel Piroe coming in at €10 million too.

The newly-capped Suriname international is a proven second tier bagsman, having first proven himself at Swansea City over the course of two seasons, which led to a big-money move to Leeds United, who were attempting to head back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Having fallen out of favour at Elland Road though in the top flight, West Ham have taken their chance on Piroe, paying £4 million for the loan deal and they are also obligated to pay a further £8 million to sign him permanently next summer.

Piroe has competition up-front to get the goals capable of taking the Hammers back to the top flight immediately, but he'll back himself to do so at a level he knows only all too well.

5 ? ? Tommy Conway - Middlesbrough

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Despite the fanfare over summer signing Will Lankshear, who could go on to be an England international one day if he continues his current trajectory, Transfermarkt has Tommy Conway as Middlesbrough's most valuable centre-forward at €14 million (£12 million).

Boro spent £4.5 million on the Scotland international in August 2024, having scored 10 Championship goals for Bristol City in his final year at Ashton Gate, and he's managed to up his goalscoring a bit since his move to Teesside, scoring 13 league goals each in both full seasons.

Whilst he's statistically missed 30 big chances over his first two years at Boro, Conway is still among the top attackers in the division, but he's got a battle on his hands to be the leading centre-forward under Kim Hellberg, with the aforementioned Lankshear looking a force to be reckoned with.

Conway may have to take a bit of a supporting or wider role to supplement Lankshear, but there's still value and development left in the Scotland international.

4 ? ? Jay Stansfield - Birmingham City

Birmingham City rattled a few cages two years ago when a League One club by agreeing a £15 million deal to sign Jay Stansfield from Fulham - a deal which had never before been seen at third tier level in English football.

His 19 goals helped Blues back to the Championship, but perhaps fans would've been expecting more than the 10 he scored in the Championship last season as they fell short of the play-offs by a few places, although he didn't often play as the leading striker under Chris Davies.

A Transfermarkt valuation of €18 million (£15.5 million) is probably fair for a versatile forward with his best years ahead of him at the age of 23, but Stansfield may have to start finding the back of the net more often to justify such a value

3 ? ? Pablo - West Ham

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With their struggles in the Premier League apparent back in January, West Ham splashed the cash on a number of new signings - which included Gil Vicente forward Pablo in an £18.3 million deal.

Pablo had scored 10 goals in 13 Primeira Liga appearances prior to his move to England, but he was unable to score in any of his 14 appearances in the top flight, making it look like a rather poor deal.

And with the Hammers keeping Taty Castellanos and also signing Joel Piroe this summer, Pablo is likely not going to get many starts for the East London club this season, and he's still not really showing that he's going to become prolific at second tier level.

Transfermarkt have the Portugal-born striker's valuation at €18 million (£15.5 million), just like Stansfield's, and that is a few million below what they actually paid earlier in 2026 - it's hard to see them getting that fee right now if they were to sell the 22-year-old.

2 ? ? Zan Vipotnik - Swansea City

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Swansea City landed a bit of a bargain in the summer of 2024 with the free transfer arrival of Slovenian striker Zan Vipotnik, whose contract at Bordeaux was ripped up due to their financial difficulties, but there was still a question of whether he'd be able to cope with the demands of the Championship.

Seven goals in his debut season in South Wales was perhaps an underwhelming total, but Vipotnik exploded in 2025-26, finding the back of the net 25 times in all competitions in what was a true breakout year.

Naturally, there was transfer speculation all summer regarding the Slovenia international, but the EFL transfer window came and went with the 24-year-old remaining in the Championship - although overseas windows in select countries at the time of writing are still open, and Swansea have two other good strikers in Adam Idah and Ross Stewart when both are fit.

Transfermarkt have Vipotnik's valuation at €22 million (£18.9 million), which is probably fair for what he did last season, but no-one was willing to take a punt for a fee that is probably a bit below what Swansea was asking for - we'll soon find out if he was a one-season wonder.

1 ? ? Taty Castellanos - West Ham

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Despite links to Premier League and Serie A clubs, Taty Castellanos has remained a West Ham player, and it looks like he's going to score goals in the Championship.

Like the aforementioned Pablo, Castellanos arrived at the London Stadium from Lazio during the January window of 2026 for an undisclosed fee, which was likely to be over £20 million, and he did his best to help his new club stave off the threat of relegation, scoring six times.

Those goals were not enough, but Castellanos put a marker down and saw eyes drawn to him, which makes it even more surprising that he's remained in the Championship for at least the first half of the season.

With a valuation of €28 million (£24.1 million), as per Transfermarkt, West Ham have a real asset on their hands in the prime of his career at the age of 27 - he'll be right up there with the top scorers of the second tier come May 2027.