The top 24 most valuable EFL Championship players in 2026/27 (Ranked) | OneFootball

Football League World takes a look at the Championship's most valuable players ahead of the 2026/27 campaign...

As a spread of sides throughout the EFL Championship seek to flex their financial muscles in this summer's freshly-commenced transfer window, the valuations of some of the division's top players will enter the spotlight.

Although we can naturally expect to see the Championship's punchier outfits splash the cash in an effort to bolster their promotion ambitions, many also face an inevitable battle to retain prized assets.

That, of course, is especially applicable to West Ham United and Wolves alongside Burnley following their relegation from the Premier League last season, whereas the likes of Middlesbrough and Swansea City would also do rather well to keep hold of Hayden Hackney and Zan Vipotnik respectively.

With the transfer mill already kicking into gear upon the commencement of the window, Football League World has consulted Transfermarkt to find out who the 24 most valuable Championship players are at this moment in time - and what it could potentially mean this summer...

€18m - 6 players

It's a six-way tie to get us started, with an estimated market value of €18 million (£15.6 milion) shared between Middlesbrough's Morgan Whittaker, Caspar Jander of Southampton, Birmingham City poster boy Jay Stansfield, West Ham pair Pablo and Konstantinos Mavropanos, and Wolves defender Toti Gomes.

Whittaker appears unlikely to depart Middlesbrough anytime soon, though Jander is reportedly interested in leaving Southampton as a result of the club's play-offs expulsion just ten months after his arrival in a £10.4 million move from FC Nurnberg, with the talented German midfielder receiving a host of admirers back in his homeland.

Stansfield, meanwhile, joined Birmingham for a fee in excess of £10 million when the club were still in League One, and still aged just 23, it's likely that Knighthead will be retaining the striker for the long run.

As for Pablo, he has interestingly been linked with a move to new Championship rivals Wolves, having endured a difficult time of it at West Ham to date after arriving for £24 million from Portuguese club Gil Vicente in January.

Whether Mavropanos will be leaving the Hammers, or if Toti's six-year stay at Molineux will be coming to an end in the coming months, both remain unclear right now.

€20m - 5 players

Similarly, five players are all tied on a reported market value of €20 million (£17.3 million), a figure which Transfermarkt rates Burnley winger Jaidon Anthony at alongside Wolves pair Matheus Mane and Tolu Arokodare and Southampton's Finn Azaz and Taylor Harwood-Bellis.

Anthony was a surprise revelation in the top-flight by scoring eight times, and Burnley will fight hard to retain his signature if interest arises. At Wolves, there will be a huge push to keep hold of prodigious teenage playmaker Matheus Mane, who the club reportedly value some way higher at £30 million amid interest from the likes of Newcastle United and Borussia Dortmund.

It's likely that the Old Gold will be more open to the exit of Arokodare, however, with the towering striker returning just three goals from 33 league appearances amid a number of disciplinary incidents following his arrival from Genk for £24 million - a fee which they would do extremely well to recoup a large part of.

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Southampton will expect to retain Finn Azaz after an impressive debut campaign at St Mary's, although the situation of captain Harwood-Bellis hangs in the balance.

The highly-rated defender has been linked to top-flight sides in Crystal Palace and Everton, and even though the Saints are reportedly demanding a sum in excess of £20 million, he could be another high-profile exit from Tonda Eckert's camp this summer.

€22m - 4 players

It's a four-way tie to get us started here, with an estimated market value of €22 million (£19 million) shared between the aforementioned Vipotnik and Jean-Clair Todibo, Ladislav Krejci and Lesley Ugochukwu of West Ham, Wolves and Burnley respectively.

Vipotnik won the Championship's Golden Boot last time out leading the line for a mid-table Swansea side, and the 24-year-old's impressive haul of 23 strikes has garnered attention amid reported interest from Portuguese pair Sporting CP and Benfica alongside West Ham.

Whereas the Slovenian frontman could just land at the London Stadium this summer, Todibo is poised to be on the move away from East London in the wake of his side's relegation. The French defender was at the centre of a high-profile fall-out with Hammers boss Nuno, which led to his reported refusal to feature in their final-day outing against Leeds United, and it would be a huge shock to see him turning out in the Championship next season.

As for Krejci, he represents a likely departure out of Molineux despite only recently joining the club in a £26 million deal from Girona after his loan move with an obligation to buy became a permanent one.

The Czechia international has caught the eye at this summer's FIFA 2026 World Cup, wearing the captain's armband and even scoring in his nation's curtain-raiser against South Korea, and the defender's exit appears very much on the cards as he fields interest from the likes of Leeds United and Besiktas.

Ugochukwu's future, meanwhile, remains more unclear, having moved to Burnley from Chelsea last summer for a reported fee in excess of £20 million. He hardly disgraced himself in a largely-dismal campaign for the Clarets, though it's yet to be seen whether he will be retained at Turf Moor, or become the subject of admiring glances this summer.

€25m - Andre

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There's a strong chance that the majority of the listed players here will be playing their football elsewhere by the time that the new season kicks off, but that's unlikely to be the case for Wolves midfielder Andre.

That's because the Old Gold pulled off a significant statement of intent last month when it was announced that Andre had put pen-to-paper on a new four-year deal with the club, having previously felt among the likelier departures from the West Midlands after suffering relegation.

Andre, who joined Wolves for £21 million from Fluminense in the summer of 2024, has featured for the side on 75 occasions in less than two years, and could be one of the Championship's biggest stars next season.

The 13-cap Brazilian international's exit is not completely out of the question, but Wolves now hold all the cards and, in any case, it appears as though he is very much committed to the cause as a new era awaits under Cesar Peixoto.

€28m - 3 players

West Ham are primed to oversee a mass exodus of the playing squad this summer in an effort to raise up to £150 million in sales, which could well see both Taty Castellanos and El-Hadji Malick Diouf head towards the exit door with reported market values of €28 million (£24.2 million) along with Burnley's Maxime Esteve.

Castellanos set the Hammers back some £25 million when he joined from Lazio in January, and although the Argentine's haul of six goals was not enough to keep his side in the Premier League, it may well be enough to take him back to the top-flight - be that in England or abroad.

If West Ham were able to collect that sort of fee for Diouf, meanwhile, it would represent a fair profit on the £19 million they shelled out to snap up the Senegalese international from Slavia Prague last summer.

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Having already been linked with Manchester United, there will be no shortage of outfits weighing up a punt for the left-back this summer.

Burnley are braced for further uncertainty surrounding the future of Esteve, who has been linked to a host of clubs since his arrival at Turf Moor in 2024 and is currently of reported interest to Liverpool and Chelsea - it does feel as though the Frenchman's time with the club may now be coming to an end.

€30m - Jarrod Bowen

Given his Premier League record in recent years, it's perhaps surprising that Jarrod Bowen's estimated transfer value is only €30 million (£26 million).

The left-footed forward has come a long way since his younger days at Hereford in the National League, and for the last five seasons at West Ham, he has hit double figures for goals in all competitions.

Still only 29 years of age, Bowen should theoretically be in the prime of his career, and it would be a real shock if he were to still be at the London Stadium when the transfer window closes on August 31, but the fact he has a young family in the area, plus a devoted Hammers fan of a step-father in actor Danny Dyer, could potentially persuade him to stay and help Nuno's side try and return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Whilst potentially not as fashionable as an early 20's quick wide player, Bowen would provide top level experience to a Premier League suitor - and if he were available for £26 million, it could be a bargain.

€32m - Hayden Hackney

With Middlesbrough failing to capitalise on their surprise second chance in the Championship play-offs when losing the final to Hull City at Wembley in May, it surely consigned them to losing star midfielder Hayden Hackney.

When he was on loan at Scunthorpe United in 2021-22, it was perhaps impossible to think that just three years later, Hackney would be a player in-demand after breaking through into Boro's first-team - handed an important role by Michael Carrick.

Hackney has flourished in the middle of the park on Teesside, so much so that a Premier League move this summer feels inevitable - many clubs have been linked, including Everton and Crystal Palace, as well as Man United with former Boro boss Carrick now in charge.

Valued by Transfermarkt at €32 million (£27.75 million), even though he's about to enter the final year of his contract, you would presume Hackney is going to fetch a commanding fee for Steve Gibson to re-invest - but what are the chances that he remains for one more year and runs his contract down at the Riverside Stadium?

€35m - Crysencio Summerville

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After a quiet first season at West Ham following his initial £25 million move from Leeds United, Crysencio Summerville really came alive for the Hammers in 2025-26, even though he ended up as part of a relegated size.

Whilst the Dutchman may only have scored five times in the top flight last season, his performances were impressive enough to the point that big clubs are circling for the 24-year-old - Man United are the latest to be eyeing up a move for his services, with David Ornstein claiming he's high on their list of left-winger targets.

Transfermarkt's €35 million (£30.3 million) valuation of Summerville though could be under-representing him - Ornstein believes that the forward will only leave the London Stadium for a figure in excess of £50 million, and considering he's currently starring at the FIFA World Cup for the Netherlands, that fee might yet increase.

€40m - Joao Gomes

Wolves may have finished bottom of the Premier League pack in 2025-26, but there's still some valuable individuals who could make the club some serious cash this summer.

One of those is Joao Gomes, who you'd perhaps expect to depart this summer, given he's already been linked heavily with a move to Atletico Madrid under Diego Simeone.

Reports from ESPN in May suggested that personal terms had been agreed with the 25-year-old and were ready to spend around £39 million on him, which is above his Transfermarkt estimated value of (£34.7 million).

Talk of a move to Spain's capital has died down since then for Gomes though, but that's not to say he will not get a move this summer - new Wolves boss Cesar Peixoto will hope to keep him, but that may not be entirely possible if some departures are necessary.

€50m - Mateus Fernandes

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If Mateus Fernandes remains at West Ham beyond the August 31 deadline, then the Hammers hierarchy will have pulled off a seemingly impossible mission.

Tottenham, Man United and Real Madrid are all interested in signing the Portuguese midfielder after he impressed greatly in the Premier League last season - that is despite being part of a side that was relegated into the Championship.

Reports are suggesting that West Ham want in excess of a stunning £80 million fee for Fernandes' services, which is a big bump from the £42 million paid to Southampton a year ago for his services.

That £80 million figure is also way more than what Transfermarkt value him at, with a €50 million (£43.4 million) estimate given to the 21-year-old - whatever the case, the east London outfit are likely going to land a serious windfall when the inevitable happens and Fernandes is no longer a West Ham player.