As we look ahead to the 2025/26 season, the excitement levels within fanbases around the country are increasing with the hunger for yet more EFL Championship action present. With this being said, here are our early contenders for promotion to the all-desired Premier League.
Ipswich Town
Following relegation from the Premier League last season in 18th place, the ‘Tractor Boys’ will be looking to bounce straight back up.
However, they have some recruitment to do following the departure of Star Player Liam Delap to Chelsea. But, with parachute payments and commercial revenue, there is no reason why this can’t be done.
Furthermore, with an experienced squad, they enter our list as the first option to go up – whether that be automatically or through the play-offs.
Southampton
With new manager Will Still at the helm, Saints fans have reasons to be excited about the season to come which will stand in stark contrast to their 20th place finish in the Premier League last season.
Still’s structured and exciting attacking approach will bring a lot of goals to St Mary’s as the team look to put on a show.
Furthermore, with the quality of the Premier League still present in their squad combined with the parachute payments that the St Marys outfit will receive, they should be able to construct a strong squad.
With this being considered, they will be strong contenders to fight for the title and a story to cover throughout the season for sure! You can see what to expect from Will Still below.
Sheffield United
As is always the aim, Sheffield United will be striving for promotion to the Premier League next season. However, they will be undertaking this task with a new manager in charge in the form of Ruben Selles.
It will definitely be interesting to see how Selles moves in the transfer window before the season, which will decide how serious the Blades are about fighting for promotion again!
However, with the foundations of Chris Wilder’s work and the business the Blades will execute during the summer, there is no reason why the Bramwell Lane outfit can’t battle for promotion again.
Birmingham City
Following promotion from EFL League One last season, the Blues will be looking to make history by going back-to-back and could be a contender for the play-offs.
With an already Championship-standard budget, they have the funds to invest in high quality players who can push them towards promotion.
Furthermore, with star-man Jay Stansfield in full confidence, he could take the Championship’s golden boot race to a new level and earn Birmingham crucial points as they battle for promotion.
Therefore, with a large budget, new high-quality faces and a team spirit that is strong because of their record-breaking season in EFL League One last season, we can see them putting on a good fight to go back to back and to get promoted to the Premier League.
Leicester City
As always, the three relegated sides are bound to be favourites to go straight back up.
However, it won’t be as easy as it sounds for Leicester as they enter their first season without Jamie Vardy.
However, with a strong period of recruitment and a fresh start at the King Power stadium, we can’t see any reason why City can’t battle for promotion next season.
It’ll be some task, but the Foxes have produced bigger shocks as we all know from their days in the Premier League.
Honourable Mentions
As always, there will be some dark horses that perform a lot better then expected. With this being said, here are a few that could be those teams.
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough are always in-and-around the play-off places, which we’re sure will be the case again for the upcoming season especially with a new manager following the departure of Michael Carrick.
However, if they are to make the play-offs, they need to make sure that they make the most of this summer and develop a squad with enough depth and quality to get promoted.
In previous years, we have seen Middlesborough produce some excellent results in the table and we are sure they will be fighting for the same positions this season as they aim to return to the Premier League.
Wrexham
Our second honourable mention lands in the form of Wrexham who have been on a unprecedented rise over the course of the last 4 years.
The fairy-tale story could be completed as soon as the end of this season, with a budget certainly big enough to do so! However, their hopes of promotion will balance on the recruitment the Welsh side undertake and how consistent they can be in their results next season.
What is for sure is that they will definitely put up a fight, no matter what the cost.
