The 2024-25 English Football League Championship has three weeks remaining in its season and for several U.S. men’s national team players, promotion hopes remain very much alive.
Brenden Aaronson, Haji Wright, and Josh Sargent are just three American players that are fighting to help their respective clubs earn promotion into the English Premier League. In addition to these three players, Aidan Morris, Caleb Wiley, and Daryl Dike are also among the grueling fight in England’s second-tier.
Aaronson is the lone American that could earn automatic promotion to the EPL while the remaining five players are all still alive for a potential top-six finish and the playoff berth that comes with it.
Here is a closer look at each player and where their club stands with four match days remaining:
Brenden Aaronson
The lone American player involved in the automatic promotion race is Brenden Aaronson.
Aaronson and Leeds United sit top of the EFL Championship with five matches remaining. Daniel Farke’s men have the more favorable schedule in comparison to Sheffield United and Burnley, who both are in the race for the top two.
Three of their final four matches come against clubs in the bottom half of the league standings.
Aaronson has chipped in nine goals and two assists this season and he will definitely need to turn it on with points at a premium for Leeds United. The Yorkshire club lost in last season’s playoff final and cannot afford to miss out on automatic promotion again this spring.
Current Position: 1st, 88 points (5 points clear in automatic promotion race)
Remaining Schedule: at Oxford United, vs. Stoke City, vs. Bristol City, at Plymouth Argyle.
Haji Wright
Coventry City are hanging onto the final promotion playoff spot, but barely.
Frank Lampard’s men are fending off several challengers in the top six race including Middlesbrough, West Bromwich Albion, Millwall, and Watford. Wright has bagged 11 goals for the Sky Blues, continuing a dominant spell in England’s second-tier.
Facing off against West Brom and Middlesbrough will be tough matches for Coventry City, while showdowns against relegation-threatened Plymouth Argyle and Luton Town pose much easier challenges.
Dropped points against Hull City on Monday night could come back to bite the Sky Blues in the behind.
Current Position: 6th, 63 points (3 points clear in promotion playoff spot race)
Remaining Schedule: vs. West Bromwich Albion, at Plymouth Argyle, at Luton Town, vs. Middlesbrough.
Daryl Dike
Out of the six clubs mentioned, West Bromwich Albion are riding the more worrying run of form.
The Baggies ending a three-match losing run with a 2-1 victory over Watford on Saturday though, keeping them right behind Coventry City for sixth place.
Daryl Dike has been reduced to six appearances this season due to injury, but is back and featuring off the bench in recent weeks. The 24-year-old might have a point to prove ahead of an intriguing summer.
Current Position: 7th, 60 points (2 points back in promotion playoff spot race)
Remaining Schedule: at Coventry City, vs. Derby County, at Cardiff City, vs. Luton Town.
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 31 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-back matches are coming up against struggling Plymouth Argyle and Sheffield Wednesday.
Their season finale against Coventry City might have a large say in who finishes in sixth place, but Carrick, Morris, and the rest of the Middlesbrough players will be hoping that their spot is guaranteed by then.
Current Position: 8th, 60 points (2 points back in promotion playoff spot race)
Remaining Schedule: vs. Plymouth Argyle, at Sheffield Wednesday, vs. Norwich City, at Coventry City.
Caleb Wiley
Watford has picked it up in recent weeks, giving them a chance of reaching the top-six.
Caleb Wiley has certainly picked it up as well, starting in each of the last three matches in Tom Cleverley’s squad. The 20-year-old Chelsea loanee recently registered his first assist, logging a strong 90 minutes against Hull City.
An upcoming match against Burnley is Watford’s toughest fixtures over the final four weeks, but should they pick up points there, the Hornets could end the season on a strong note.
Current Position: 11th, 56 points (6 points back in promotion playoff spot race)
Remaining Schedule: vs. Burnley, at Portsmouth, at Blackburn Rovers, vs. Sheffield Wednesday.
Josh Sargent
It might be safe to say that anything but three points for Norwich City this weekend will all but end their top-six chase.
Josh Sargent has done all he can for the Canaries, but overall the second-half inconsistency from Johannes Hoff Thorup’s squad has truly hurt them. Sargent has contributed 14 goals (third-most in the Championship) along with Borja Sainz’s league-leading 17.
However, four losses in their last six matches has put the Canaries in a worrying spot.
Current Position: 13th, 53 points (9 points back in promotion playoff spot race)
Remaining Schedule: vs. Portsmouth, at Millwall, at Middlesbrough, vs. Cardiff City.
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?