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Following Fulham’s victory over Brentford in the Play-Off final, the 2019-20 EFL Championship campaign is finally over. The Cottagers’ win means that they’ll be joining Leeds United and West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League next season.
The trio of promoted teams can probably be expected to struggle somewhat – as most promoted sides do in their first Premier League campaign. However, all three sides have a number of players who appear to be ready to hit the ground running. Do that, and they could help their side to survival.
Here are 5 promoted players who are ready to succeed in the Premier League.
#1 Kalvin Phillips (Leeds United)
The fact that Kalvin Phillips was linked with an England call-up despite playing in the Championship rather than the Premier League should tell you a lot about his ability. Initially used as a box-to-box midfielder, the 24-year old was converted into a holding man by Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa in the 2018-19 campaign.
Since then, the results have been remarkable. Leeds conceded just 35 goals this season. And while credit can be given to defenders such as Ben White and Luke Ayling, it’s impossible to overlook the job Phillips did as their screen.
But despite registering high in defensive statistics – averaging 2.6 successful tackles and 1.4 successful interceptions per game – he’s not just a tough tackler. The Leeds academy product is also great on the ball, with an excellent passing range that allows him to get things moving forward and begin attacks.
His passing has proven so good in fact that Leeds fans have nicknamed him the ‘Yorkshire Pirlo’.
At the Premier League level, where the pressure on a defence can be suffocating at times, Phillips may well turn out to be Leeds’ most important player. And if he can take to life in the Premier League well, there will definitely be a clamour for him to be called up for England, too.
#2 Matheus Pereira (West Bromwich Albion)
West Brom’s charge towards Premier League status was helped greatly by two loan stars – wingers Matheus Pereira and Grady Diangana. But while Diangana is expected to return to parent club West Ham in the summer, Baggies fans will be thankful that Pereira has instead joined them in a permanent deal.
If the Brazilian can replicate his Championship form in the Premier League – or even come close – then the £8.25m fee that West Brom paid for him will quickly look like a bargain. Despite a slow start to his career in the Midlands, Pereira has been simply phenomenal for the majority of the 2019-20 campaign.
Appearing in all 42 of the Baggies’ games, he scored eight goals and registered 16 assists, meaning he was involved with more goals than any of Slaven Bilic’s other players. With an incredible ability to hold onto the ball in tight situations, nobody created more chances than his 3.1 per game in the entire competition.
Essentially, it appeared that the Brazilian was simply too good for the Championship on more than one occasion. 2020-21 will mark his chance to prove that he can succeed at the Premier League level. And after the way he’s performed, it’d be hard to bet against him doing so.
#3 Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham)
Play-Off winners Fulham might need a major rebuild of their squad if they want to avoid instant relegation from the Premier League. But they do have one major weapon in their arsenal. Striker Aleksandar Mitrovic scored 26 goals in 2019-20 to finish as the competition’s top scorer, averaging a goal every 139 minutes.
More importantly, though, the Serbian international is already a proven goalscorer at the top level. Despite Fulham’s struggles in the Premier League in the 2018-19 campaign, Mitrovic was still able to score a decent 11 goals. And that isn’t taking into account his record at international level, where he’s scored goals against the likes of France, Croatia and Switzerland.
A physical presence up front, Mitrovic is practically a throwback striker. He’s usually used as a battering ram of sorts, with his ability in the air remaining fantastic. The 2019-20 season, for instance, has seen him win an average of 4.5 aerial duels per game, with a number of his goals coming from his head.
Questions still abound over his discipline, and he may find it harder to employ his physical style against Premier League defenders. However, he clearly knows where to find goals and he’s performed in the Premier League before. If he can find form, then Fulham have a much better shot of survival.
#4 Pablo Hernandez (Leeds United)
Given that he first appeared in the Premier League for Swansea City nearly a decade ago, it’ll be strange to see Spanish veteran Pablo Hernandez return. He’s 35 years old now and should be at the tail-end of his career. But he was fantastic for Leeds in the 2019-20 campaign, scoring nine goals and registering nine assists in 36 games.
Deployed as Marcelo Bielsa’s lead playmaker, Hernandez first joined Leeds back in 2016. Since the arrival of the legendary Argentine boss though, he’s been one of the Whites’ key players. In November he inked a contract to keep him at Elland Road until 2022.
Like his former Valencia teammate and Premier League star David Silva, Hernandez is excellent on the ball and his passing range is fantastic. This season saw him average over 53 passes per game, with an average of 2.3 key passes per game.
He’s also shown the ability to pop up with something special at the right moment – as he did when he scored the winner in a key game against Swansea in July.
Given his age, how well the Spaniard will adapt to the higher pace of the Premier League is a bit of a question mark. However, he’s clearly got the ability, experience and class to thrive at the top level. And he should be a key man for Leeds in their return to the top flight.
#5 Josh Onomah (Fulham)
When Tottenham Hotspur used midfielder Josh Onomah as a makeweight in their deal for Fulham’s Ryan Sessegnon last summer, his chances at the top level were all but written off. However, following the Cottagers’ promotion, the 23-year-old will have another chance at Premier League success in 2020-21.
A highly talented player with good dribbling skills, passing range and an eye for goal, Onomah made 35 appearances for Fulham this season, scoring four goals and registering three assists.
Most notably he came to prominence following the competition’s restart in June. three of his goals and two of his assists came during that time period, with his solo goal against Cardiff in the Play-Off semi-finals being one of the best of the 2019-20 campaign.
The big knock on Onomah is his consistency. Despite his ability, he does have a tendency to float in and out of games and go missing at times. And if he wants to succeed at the Premier League level then he’ll need to improve on that.
It’s clear though that he has a lot of raw ability. And if Scott Parker can get the most out of him, he may well play a key role in attempting to secure Fulham’s Premier League status next season.
