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

Football League World have ranked the division's talent on the wing

The Championship is home to some of the most fluid, expansive and creative attacking play, which makes it such an enticing and consumable product for football supporters the world over.

Naturally, the operators that produce these moments most often are crucial to their team’s performance over 46 games, as their individual brilliance can help decide upon a game’s outcome within the blink of an eye.

With the opening stanza of the 2025/26 Championship campaign well underway, Football League World have ranked each second-tier outfit’s best winger from worst to best.

24 Sheffield Wednesday - Olaf Kobacki

Somewhat unsurprisingly, Sheffield Wednesday fall last on this list.

After the tragic summer they suffered due to financial mismanagement, the Owls’ best wingers departed, with Djeidi Gassama already emerging as one of Scottish giants Rangers' most important players.

Olaf Kobacki moved to Hillsborough in 2024, but has struggled with injury issues during his time at the club. The 24-year-old has shown shoots of promise when on the pitch, but hasn't done enough yet to justify a higher ranking on this list.

23 Charlton Athletic - Tyreece Campbell

Tyreece Campbell is experiencing his first taste of Championship football in the 2025/26 campaign, having played an important role in the Addicks’ promotion from League One last term.

The 22-year-old is Nathan Jones’ preferred choice on the left flank, with his ability to take players on and put crosses into the box a huge plus.

Campbell’s lack of time to assert himself in the second-tier explains his place in this ranking, but there is still plenty of time for the forward to announce himself to the division.

Tyler Goodrham has come through the youth ranks at Oxford United to establish himself as a starter in their first team, featuring regularly across the past three seasons.

The winger’s best performances came during the 2023/24 campaign, scoring eight goals and providing four assists in League One as Oxford achieved promotion to the Championship via the play-offs.

He is yet to fully replicate that form in the second-tier despite flashes of brilliance, which explains his ranking on this list. However, much like Campbell, at just 22 years of age, Goodrham has lots of time to develop into one of the division’s leading wide men.

Ryan Hedges first featured in the Championship almost a decade ago and after a spell north of the border with Scottish side Aberdeen, has plied his trade for Blackburn Rovers since 2022.

Fitness has stopped the Welshman asserting himself as a regular starter on the East Lancashire outfit’s wing during that time, scoring just eight times in 110 Championship appearances at this moment in time.

However, the 30-year-old has started the 2025/26 campaign strongly and looks to be Valérien Ismaël’s preferred left-winger, which could provide the foundations for his best year at Ewood Park to date.

20 Millwall - Camiel Neghli

Millwall traditionally set up with wide midfielders instead of out-and-out wingers, which may hamper some of their creative talents’ output.

However, Camiel Neghli has impressed during his time at the Den.

Since joining in January from Dutch outfit Sparta Rotterdam, the 23-year-old has scored two goals in seven Championship starts whilst still acclimatising to English football.

It’s hard to fully judge the winger with such a small sample size, but Neghli has shown promise that he could develop into one of Alex Neil’s most dangerous operators.

19 Preston North End - Thierry Small

Preston North End have laughed off pre-season predictions that saw them tipped for relegation to start the 2025/26 season in fine form, beating the likes of Leicester City and Ipswich Town thus far.

A big factor in that has been Thierry Small’s dominant performances on the wing. The 21-year-old joined PNE from Charlton Athletic in the summer and has started every one of the Lilywhites’ league outings to date.

His physical nature on the left flank has proven almost impossible to contain, displayed perfectly as he provided a match-winning assist for Milutin Osmajic against Leicester.

18 Norwich City - Ante Crnac

Norwich City are another side that doesn’t set up with wingers, as Liam Manning opts to deploy wing-backs instead.

Ante Crnac has operated out of an attacking midfield role so far this campaign as a result, but the Croat’s natural position is on the right wing.

Crnac impressed during his first season at Carrow Road last term, scoring seven goals and providing four assists in 38 Championship appearances.

With more experience in the English game and at just 21 years of age, the wide man has plenty of time to shoot up this ranking in years to come.

17 Watford - Giorgi Chakvetadze

Continuing the theme, Watford are one more outfit that doesn’t set up with wingers in a traditional sense, but Giorgi Chakvetadze has previously excelled in that role.

The 26-year-old has regularly shown his trickery and ability to beat a man on the left flank, most impressively so during the 2024 European Championships with Georgia.

Last season, Chakvetadze scored twice and provided seven assists in 41 games across all competitions, a tally he will hope to better upon returning from injury later this campaign.

Joe Gelhardt wasn’t afforded much time with Leeds United to show what he could do on a regular basis, but has looked to be a dangerous Championship operator whilst with Hull City.

The 23-year-old scored five crucial goals for the Tigers during their relegation battle last term, including a brace in a season-defining victory over Preston North End.

Gelhardt has continued that form into this season, scoring twice in four starts to assert himself as Hull’s main focal point in attack.

15 Stoke City - Sorba Thomas

Sorba Thomas has previously shown flashes of brilliance with sides such as Blackburn Rovers and Huddersfield Town in the Championship but never managed to perform at a consistently high level.

However, he has been in unstoppable form for Stoke City during the opening stages of the 2025/26 campaign.

Mark Robins has unlocked the 26-year-old’s true potential, with Thomas scoring twice and assisting three times during the Potters’ first five matches.