Sunderland, Wigan and Rotherham all came away from the weekend’s fixtures with points, owing to goals from each of their number 9s. Rarely in the Championship have we seen such attacking quality in the promoted teams in the division, but the question is: could all 3 hitmen fire their respective clubs to safety, or even better?
Ross Stewart arguably stands the best chance of doing so, after his red-hot start to his first-ever Championship season. The Scotland international has hit 4 goal contributions in as many games at Sunderland, who themselves sit happily in fifth.
It is still early in the season, but Stewart certainly appears to have taken to the second tier like a duck to water. He boasts above-average statistics in expected goals, assists, and is dominant in the air. Regardless, Stewart is absolutely adored by Sunderland fans after his 24 goals (and 2 in the playoffs) finally fired them to promotion last campaign, and is a rare mix of speed, power and technical quality. WhoScored rate Stewart as the most in-form player in the division, and his heroics have made Sunderland more than competitive following promotion.
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Fourth on WhoScored’s form list is fellow promoted striker Chiedozie Ogbene, who has enjoyed a wonderful start to the season and capitalized on the promise that saw him become an Ireland international and linked to Swansea this summer.
Oebene, now 25, was brought to England by Brentford from Limerick FC four-and-a-half years ago, always a good sign given the Bees’ penchant for recruitment of talented youngsters. Rotherham snapped him up permanently three years ago, and he hasn’t looked back since.
Despite his promise and pedigree, as evidenced by 10 Ireland caps, Ogbene’s returns haven’t necessarily jumped off the page until now. Out on the right-wing, he managed an impressive eight assists last season in League One, but finishing off attacking never appeared to be Ogbene’s specialty.
This season appears to be a real coming-of-age moment for Ogbene and a big step in his development as a player, with 4 goals in 5 appearances across league and cup competitions so far. If Rotherham can hold on to their burgeoning star through this transfer window, they could also maintain their solid form that leaves them in 13th place so far.
Wigan Athletic find themselves a little further down the table, but remain one of only four undefeated teams, with 3 draws in 4 matches. New striker Nathan Broadhead appears to be settling into the Championship, and with time he could turn more of those draws into wins like he did at the weekend at Birmingham City.
Broadhead was subject to plenty of Championship interest this summer after a promising spell for Sunderland, scoring a goal every other game, but ultimately opted for Wigan as his next loan move from parent club Everton.
It was a tidy finish from the striker against Birmingham, low and clean into the bottom-left corner, and with his former in the past 8 months one would expect that a senior international call-up for Wales isn’t too far away.
The next international break comes only after some real tests for the Latics against teams like West Brom, Burnley and Blackburn Rovers, all of whom have real quality at this level. Chances might be few and far between, which is where Broadhead’s lethal finishing comes in – and if he can take his chances, Wigan could well become an established and competitive Championship team against all odds coming into the season
