Five Championship stars ripe for a January Premier League transfer include Chelsea, Liverpool targets | OneFootball

Liverpool and Chelsea targets are among five Championship stars ripe for a move to the Premier League in January, with Leicester City at risk of losing two gems…

Abdul Fatawu (Leicester City)

Leicester would have likely gone down with or without Fatawu last season, but the cruciate ligament injury that he suffered in December 2024 was a blow to their Premier League survival hopes.

And the electric winger has shown Leicester what they have been missing in the first few months of this campaign, carrying his side with moments of brilliance to salvage otherwise poor performances.

Were it not for his injury, the Foxes would surely have lost the 21-year-old in the summer, but they could be without him from January onwards.

Fatawu is certainly too good to be playing in the Championship and has done enough to earn a move back to the Premier League. A report from an insider on X claims AFC Bournemouth are ‘exploring a £35m move’ for him – his domino could fall in the Antoine Semenyo move – while Liverpool are ‘still keen’ after ‘previously having him on their database’.

For Bournemouth, this possible move makes perfect sense as they currently face the difficult task of replacing Manchester City-bound Antoine Semenyo, and Fatawu can eventually fill that void.

Liverpool, meanwhile, are crying out for reinforcements in wide areas and the Leicester man could be a long-term solution to their replacing Mohamed Salah headache.

Viktor Johansson (Stoke City)

As F365’s resident Rotherham United supporter, I am contractually obliged to wax lyrical about the club’s best goalkeeper in my lifetime, who is currently shining bright at Stoke City, at any given opportunity.

Johansson, who has rightly taken his place as Sweden’s No.1 this year, single-handedly carried Rotherham in the Championship for a couple of years before securing a well-earned upward move to Stoke, where he has continued to go from strength to strength.

The 27-year-old has always been a sensational shot-stopper, and that remains the case, but he has added more strings to his bow at Stoke City to become a more rounded goalkeeper and perhaps the best in his position in the Championship.

Now more demanding in his penalty area and more comfortable in possession, Johansson has all of the necessary credentials to be a No.1 in the Premier League.

Everton and West Ham have previously looked at Johansson, who should be under consideration at each of the bottom-half sides in the Premier League heading into the New Year.

Hayden Hackney (Middlesbrough)

Hackney had a contender for the worst non-red card challenge of all time on Boxing Day as he remarkably avoided being dismissed against Blackburn Rovers, but this does not take away from the fact that he is bound for the Premier League next year.

The 23-year-old arguably should already be in the Premier League, but Middlesbrough have managed to keep their prized asset with demands of a fee of £20m+ in recent windows.

Middlesbrough, despite recently losing Rob Edwards to Wolves, are currently pushing for promotion to the Premier League, but they are quickly running out of time to land a huge fee for Hackney, who is only under contract until 2027.

Hackney actually came close to an exit in the summer as he was bound for Ipswich after they had a £25m proposal accepted, though the player turned down the move.

Clearly, Hackney only has eyes for the Premier League. Everton are the most recent side to be mentioned as a suitor and they could test the waters in January after Middlesbrough showed their hand in the summer.

Jeremy Monga (Leicester City)

The Foxes are certainly not without their off-field issues as their financial difficulties have seen them become a mess over the past couple of seasons.

Still, they can always rely on their academy to pluck them out of trouble by producing a gem for the future, with 16-year-old winger Monga destined for great things.

Monga has already made 21 appearances in the Premier League and Championship combined, while he recently became the youngest-ever goalscorer in second-tier history.

Naturally, this has not gone unnoticed and Leicester stand to make a pretty penny on the teenager, whose admirers include elite Premier League and European clubs.

A recent report from Football London indicated that Chelsea are ‘leading the race’ to sign the ‘generational talent’, which is unsurprising given their model of hoarding the best young footballers in the world before they are first-team ready or to sell them for a profit eventually.

Josh Sargent (Norwich City)

Sargent is another Championship player who should be playing in the Premier League, having been one of, if not the best, strikers at this level for the past couple of years.

Injuries have prevented the forward from scoring 20+ Championship goals in back-to-back seasons, but he has continued to impress in a Norwich City side that is badly underperforming near the foot of the table.

Sargent can be credited for remaining loyal to Norwich in recent years, but he deserves much more and could need a move to the Premier League or top division in Europe to kick on and earn a spot in the United States squad for the World Cup.

Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg reportedly remain in the conversation after missing out in the summer, but West Ham could do a lot worse than to target him to ease their forward issues during the run-in.