The 2024-25 English Football League Championship has two weeks remaining in its season and for three U.S. men’s national team players, promotion hopes remain very much alive.
Haji Wright, Aidan Morris, and Daryl Dike are the current American players that are fighting to help their respective clubs earn promotion into the English Premier League. Brenden Aaronson and Leeds United have already clinched one of the two automatic promotion spots, while Burnley sealed the second spot.
Here is a closer look at each player and where their club stands with two match days remaining:
Haji Wright
Coventry City are hanging onto the final promotion playoff spot, but by the skin of their teeth.
Frank Lampard’s men are fending off several challengers in the top-six race including Middlesbrough, Millwall, and Blackburn Rovers. Wright has bagged 12 goals for the Sky Blues, most recently scoring his side’s lone goal in a 2-1 loss to Plymouth Argyle.
Facing off with relegation-threatened Luton Town won’t be an easy match before a final day finale against seventh-place Middlesbrough.
Should Coventry City miss out on the playoffs, it wouldn’t be shocking if Wright was linked with a move away this summer.
Current Position: 6th, 66 points (3 points clear in promotion playoff spot race)
Remaining Schedule: at Luton Town, vs. Middlesbrough.
Aidan Morris
Middlesbrough remains right behind Coventry City for the final promotion playoff spot.
23-year-old Aidan Morris has played a large role in Michael Carrick’s squad this season, logging 33 league appearances and two assists. The two-time MLS Cup winner has made a smooth transition to Teesside, giving Middlesbrough a chance at promotion back to the Premier League.
A showdown with Norwich City won’t be easy for Boro before a final day showdown with Coventry City. Should they pick up three points against the Canaries, Middlesbrough’s clash with the Sky Blues could be a one-off for sixth place.
Current Position: 7th, 63 points (3 points back in promotion playoff spot race)
Remaining Schedule: vs. Norwich City, at Coventry City.
Daryl Dike
West Bromwich Albion are mathematically alive in the top-six, but need a lot to happen to get into the playoff places.
The Baggies most recently lost 3-1 to rivals Derby County, which led to the firing of manager Tony Mowbray. West Brom has endured a tough run of form in recent weeks, winning just six league matches in 2025 overall.
Daryl Dike has been reduced to nine appearances this season due to injury, but is back and featuring off the bench in recent weeks. The 24-year-old might have more of an opportunity, with West Brom needing to throw out all stops in their final two matches.
Cardiff City and Luton Town are both fighting for league survival, so expect West Brom to receive tough tests from both clubs.
Anything but three points against the Bluebirds this weekend will end West Brom’s top-six quest. In addition, will need for Coventry City, Middlesbrough, Millwall, and Blackburn Rovers to all slip up at some point over the next two weeks.
Current Position: 10th, 60 points (6 points back in promotion playoff spot race)
Remaining Schedule: at Cardiff City, vs. Luton Town.
If Dike can stay healthy, he will move on. He has looked strong in the last couple games I saw, but not quite enough to get his team into the play-offs. A team looking for a big aggressive forward could do worse than to sign him, with that niggling worry about injury.
Vacqui,
Well Jesse’s Canadian team did beat the US who were led by the guy who beat Jesse out for the USMNT job. Is Pochitteno really better?
In that one game?
No, Jesse was better.
Better today? To this point?
Yes, Mauricio is better. He’s a more mature manager. I didn’t want Jesse for the USMNT because I thought the scent of shit was too strong around him. Gregg already reeked of it and I saw no advantage in switching to Jesse’s scent.
Canada was tailor- made for him. Leeds and Leipzig were more complicated, nuanced situations and Jesse seems better with straight forward. And Bamford isn’t Canadian.
It might be different after both retire. That is really the only time when you can sit down and compare managerial careers.
You would not , for example, compare Gregg Berhalter to Jurgen Klopp because Gregg is still active and Klopp is done, though he is supposedly considering a return.
You laugh at the comparison but what if Brazil hire Gregg and he wins the 2026 World Cup? Then what?
Objectively are any of these players EPL caliber starters?
Do players like Morris and Wiley receive enough personal coaching to develop ? Especially considering the financial pressure to get promoted.
The last time Leeds got promoted Bamford was their striker. Scored a lot of goals in the Championship. In EPL struggled and hurt Leeds with missed opportunities that should have been goals.
Wood at Forest is a guy I can think of recently that raised his level of play from the lower league to the Premier League but he fits into what Forest wants to do.
Objectively, it is really hard for anyone to be an EPL caliber striker.
“In EPL struggled and hurt Leeds with missed opportunities that should have been goals.”
Bamford scored about as much in the EPL as he did in the Championship.
In three seasons with Leeds in the EPL, Bamford scored 23 goals and had 12 assists. 17 of those goals were in season 2020-2021. The following. two seasons his production was down probably due to injury.
In 2023-2024 in the Championship, Bamford scored 8 goals and had 1 assist. He has yet to score this season ( hamstrings). His body has been telling him for some time now that, as long as his health remains the same, he’s clearly not a full time player, anywhere, anymore.
Ivan Toney and Ollie Watkins are fairly recent examples of Championship strikers who have done well in the EPL.
You can’t separate the player from the team. Lots of the players who go to Manchester United are extremely talented and capable but something about that team is toxic and turns really good players into garbage.
You can’t paint them all with a broad brush.
Josh and Haji , if they go to the EPL, or anywhere else, have to go to the right team for them. If they do there’s no reason they can’t succeed in the EPL.
If Sarge, Brendan, or Haji were to be promoted they would all play quite a bit for their clubs. But I don’t think that any are a lock successful EPL player that their clubs wouldn’t at least look for an upgrade to start and bring them off the bench. If they don’t earn promotion I could see either Haji or Sarge getting a new location in the EPL from bottom third type club.
– Wiley will be loaned out again by Chelsea either back to Championship or do another lower tier league.
– As a Crew fan I love Aidan Morris but I don’t think the athleticism is there to be advance on his own to EPL, if his club gets promoted he’ll definitely play a lot for them. He’s playing for Carrick who won just about everything with ManU so you’d think that’d be good for developing a CM.
– Daryl Dike of 3 or 4 years ago I’d say yes because his size would bring interest. 2 years with barely playing due to injury not sure the interest or the ability is still there.
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With all these guys it just takes one manager to believe in them. I mean who watched Simon Elliot in MLS and thought that guy could play in the EPL?
I think both Haji Wright and Josh Sargent are either in the EPL next year with their current teams or another, and if not are sold to bigger clubs in a better league. They for me, have outgrown the EC
Bamford unfortunately was really really bad in the EPL for Leeds. I watched all the games. He not only flubbed chances bit would miscontrol balls in space and around in the area all the time. felt bad for him
Beach,
I’m guessing you missed his 20/21 season before Tyler, Wes, Jesse, and Brenden got there. In 20/21 under Bielsa he had 17g 8a in the EPL. In the fall of ‘21 he started with 2g 2a in his first 6 matches then a series of injuries took hold. He’s never found his form since.
hey JR, Let me restate…in the season with BA on the team, I saw exactly what I saw, and Bamford was miserably terrible in the EPL
did you watch those Leeds games in those seasons you mentioned?
Beachbum,
By the time Marsch and the Americans hit Leeds it seems like Bamford’s body had retired but forgot to tell him.
The USMNT fans who tried to deflect criticism from our guys during that time by pointing out that Patrick sucked worse, don’t seem to realize or give a shit that he was a very good target forward for Leeds in the EPL and in the Championship before Jesse and his merry men hit town.
He had a track record.
That is probably why Leeds stuck with him and kept trying to get him back in shape. Rather than spending the 30 million on BA they might have been better off spending it on a good target forward.
I am not trying to deflect any criticism on BA or the Americans. I predicted BA would struggle because of his hold up play, which includes him getting creamed all the time, and he paid a price.
that does not excuse the facts that if Bamford had been even remotely able to play that position, things would have been vastly different
Good for him to have played well before, he was not any of that in the season in question.
do you deny that?
beachbum,
“do you deny that?”
Not at all.
Like I said, for a variety of reasons. Bamford sucked when Jesse and the gang hit town.
At the time it was pretty clear to me that Bamford was either hurt or else had just fallen off a cliff. What I could not understand was:
1. Why Leeds kept trying to send him out there.
2. Why Leeds did not get a replacement ether then or in the seasons afterward .
An in form Bamford could have made everyone’s life, not just BA’s, easier, at least in theory. Brenden probably would have had a better season but there is no way to prove that.
BA had other concerns.
It was his first season in the highly competitive EPL after a few seasons of beating up on intramural teams in the Austrian Bundesliga. Better players than BA have gone right down the toilet in similar circumstances.
BA was great at Salzburg but anyone who thought he would come to the EPL and dominate was being very optimistic. If I have this right it was BIelsa who originally was interested in BA. Obviously he thought BA had sufficient talent. That’s why I say besides BA himself, the guy I most blame for BA’s shit debut season was not Bamford but Jesse.
BA is a systems player and, it being his first season and all, Jesse needed to help him acclimate to the alleged “Marsch system” supposedly a variation of the BieIsa system. It doesn’t look to me like Jesse did a good job of that.
BA has done a good job this go around and it helps that the team is a lot more settled. Whether they finally go up and whether BA stays with them, we’ll see.
Beach, I watched Leeds a few times that season because they were the big story but I don’t really remember Bamford. Watched some highlights from that year and he isn’t the player we’ve seen the last few years. Several of his injuries were foot and/or ankle related and he just doesn’t seemed to have ever really recovered, maybe he just really clicked with Bielsa. His two best seasons were under the Argentine. He scored on Spurs, Chelsea and Liverpool, had a hat trick and two other games with 1g 2a, that’s just not the player he is now. He even called into the NT for WCQualifiers and started against Andorra.
V: Jesse had managed Brenden at Salzburg. I agree Jesse didn’t seem to push the right buttons for BA that season but it wasn’t because Aaronson didn’t understand Jesse’s system.
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As I recall Leeds tried very hard to get a striker in the summer window. The tried to get Cody Gakpo and nearly signed him but he decided to go to the WC and see if he could improve his stock, which he did. Then made a much bigger money move to Liverpool. He’s more a LW but Leeds were going to play him as a CF. They also made a big offer for DeKetelaere who ended up at AC Milan and got replaced by Pulisic. He’s been fairly good at Atalanta as a #10 but Leeds were allegedly looking at him as a forward. Maybe young attackers that could play striker was all Leeds could really afford or Jesse wanted small center forwards that could press we don’t know because the big teams priced them out.
JR,
“but it wasn’t because Aaronson didn’t understand Jesse’s system.”
I agree with that it was not because BA did not “understand” the system. Whatever “system” Jesse rolled out there it did not work. To me Jesse seemed curiously in over his head. It affected all the players but I think it hit BA, Weston and Tyler ( though he really did not play enough to be a factor) a little harder because they could have used more leadership. BA and Weston both looked equally lost.
That’s why I did not want Jesse to replace Gregg.