Every team in the Championship starts the season with the grand dream of reaching the Premier League, going from newly-promoted Bolton Wanderers, to midtable Stoke City, to play-off finalists Middlesbrough.
Clubs in all different positions heading into the campaign can dream of glory and that is what makes the second tier of English football such a compelling watch every year.
After losing 1-0 to Hull City in the play-off final, Kim Hellberg will be hoping to go one better and lead Broo to the top-flight by the end of this season.
Stoke finished 17th in the division under Mark Robins at the end of the 2025/26 campaign, and they will be hoping to surge up the table this time around.
More often than not, teams that earn promotion from the Championship have game-changers and difference-makers who can produce moments of quality that bail their side out of underwhelming performances.
You go back through the years and look at the likes of Pablo Hernandez, Emiliano Buendia, Matheus Pereira, and Adel Taraabt, and you see the kind of player needed to take the step up to the Premier League.
Hellberg, Robins, and Steven Schumacher should all be looking to add more players to their squad who have the potential to be one of those types of stars for their respective clubs next term.
Buendia, for example, led Norwich City to two Championship titles during his time in Norfolk, scoring 23 goals and providing 28 assists across two seasons in the division.
|
Buendia (Championship) |
18/19 |
20/21 |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
38 |
39 |
|
Goals |
8 |
15 |
|
Key passes per game |
2.4 |
3.1 |
|
Big chances created |
7 |
18 |
|
Assists |
12 |
16 |
The task at hand for Bolton, Stoke, and Boro is to attempt to sign attacking players who can close to offering that level of quality in the final third in the second tier.
Stoke and Middlesbrough battling for the league’s next Buendia
Now, all three of those clubs are looking at a player who could arrive in the Championship as the league’s next version of Buendia in the 2026/27 campaign.
OnTheMinute reports that Stoke City have joined the race to sign Liverpool youngster Kieran Morrison on loan before the end of the summer transfer window.
The outlet claims that Middlesbrough and Bolton Wandereres are also eyeing up a move for the 19-year-old talent to bolster their respective squads in the coming weeks.
It adds that the Premier League giants are prepared to sanction a season-long loan for the teenage talent, but they will be prioritising the club that can guarantee him the most minutes.
The Northern Ireland international has made his way through the youth ranks at Anfield and played two games for the first-team, whilst he has also been capped by his country.
It is his form at youth level, though, that suggests that Stoke, Middlesbrough, or Bolton could unearth the Championship’s new version of Buendia if they provide him with a platform to showcase his talent.
|
Kieran Morrison’s club career |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Team |
Appearances |
Goals + assists |
|
Liverpool |
2 |
0 + 0 |
|
Liverpool U21s |
50 |
18 + 8 |
|
Liverpool U19s |
34 |
13 + 5 |
|
Liverpool UEFA U19s |
12 |
4 + 3 |
|
Total |
109 |
35 + 16 |
The 19-year-old winger has racked up 51 goal contributions in 109 matches for Liverpool from U19 to first-team level, which shows that he does have the potential to provide a consistent threat as an attacking force.
In fact, his return of 26 goal contributions in 50 matches for the U21s shows that he can average a goal or an assist roughly every other match on average.
Buendia averaged a goal contribution roughly every 1.5 games for Norwich in the Championship, which is not far off what Morrison averages for Liverpool at U21 level with his contributions.
Like the Argentina international, the Premier League prospect is also a versatile forward who can play off the right flank or in the number ten position as an attacking midfielder, as Buendia did with Norwich and currently does with Aston Villa.
Morrison has yet to prove himself at first-team level, of course, but he has only played two senior matches and has not been given the opportunity to show that he can carry his youth form over to a senior setting.
Stoke, Boro, and Bolton must all now take a leap of faith and attempt to sign him in the hope that he can emerge as their own version of Buendia by delivering goals and assists on a consistent basis to be the game-changer they need to secure promotion.
It is a risky move, given his inexperience, but his incredible form for Liverpool’s academy teams suggests that it is worth the risk for those three clubs.
