The 10 EFL Championship Top Scorers Of All Time

Fans and pundits often call the Championship "the most exciting league in the world", and you can see why. Every season, England's second tier — which offers the chance of promotion to the Premier League — is extremely competitive, with plenty of big hitters coming down from the top flight and a fair few surprise packages aiming for a high finish too. Often, the battle for promotion will see as many as 10 or 12 teams vying for a place at the top table of English football, and the results of those battles can be incredibly hard to predict.

In this environment, having a top–class goalscorer can separate you from the rest of the pack. Look back at any Championship title-winning team of the last few years, and you'll probably find that their line is led by a quality striker. In this article, we'll be examining some of those star players, as we work our way through the best forwards in the division right now, before moving onto a list of every single Championship top scorer in history. Finally, we'll end with a comprehensive run-down of the Championship all time top scorers, from number 10 to number one.

When Was The Championship Founded?

English professional football dates back to 1888, when the Football Association set up the English Football League and began giving teams a round-robin format in which to compete with each other twice each season. At first, there was just one professional league, the First Division. However, in 1892 the FA added a Second Division, with promotion to the upper tier possible for two teams each season. 

This second tier is the root of what we now call the Championship, which is actually a very recent invention. The Championship was formed in 2004 as a rebrand of the Football League First Division (the name of the second tier ever since the Premier League broke away in 1992). 

The Championship's proximity to the uber-wealthy Premier League means it is the richest non-top-flight league in the world, and the standard of football is higher than in any other second tier around. However, there's also a danger of relegation to England's third tier, League One. This reflects the fact the Championship is just one part of England's vast footballling pyramid. 

The English Football Pyramid: Explained

The English Football League is the oldest professional football league in the world, and there are more professional clubs playing in the English system than in any other country on earth. Passion for the game and dedicated sport runs right down to the fifth tier and beyond, with lower-league clubs attracting huge crowds and developing players that will go on to reach the top level.

Professional English football comprises four leagues: The Premier League (tier one), The Championship (tier two), League One (tier three), and League Two (tier four). This particular structure has been in place since the creation of the Championship in 2004, but the system has operated with four divisions for a long time (they just used to be named differently).

The Premier League is a separate entity from the rest of the English Football League (EFL), with its 20 clubs operating as a distinct league structure and voting amongst themselves on major decisions. Meanwhile, the Championship, League One and League Two all contain 24 teams each, forming an EFL block of 72 teams, and a broader English professional pyramid of 92 teams.

It should also be said that numerous clubs operating below the League Two drop-off zone — which traditionally represented the lowest level of the English professional game — now have significant budgets and effectively function as professional clubs. The standard of football in the traditionally semi-professional fifth tier (the National League) and the rewards of getting back into the Football League mean that a number of clubs (such as Wrexham, Notts County, Stockport and Chesterfield) are now gambling financially to catapult themselves back to the big leagues.

The Best Championship Forwards In 2024

The Championship is the highest level of football within the EFL. At any one time, there is likely to be an array of quality footballers playing in the division who have made numerous Premier League appearances and even won trophies with other clubs at the top level. This season, for example, Premier League and FA Cup winner Jamie Vardy — the prolific talisman behind Leicester City's historic 2015/16 title win — has been banging in plenty of goals at the ripe old age of 37, his 18 league goals helping take the Foxes back up as champions.

Currently, another of the league's best strikers is Norwich City's Josh Sargent, a USMNT international who was kept out for much of the campaign through injury but who still managed to bag a seriously impressive 16 goals in 27 games for the Canaries. 

However, there's no denying that the most impressive forward of all in the Championship in 2024 was Sammie Szmodics. The Republic of Ireland international and now Ipswich Town forward found some incredible form for Blackburn Rovers last season, scoring 27 goals and registering four assists for the Lancashire club. What made this tally even more astounding is that his team ended up finishing 19th in the league, just a hair away from a relegation dogfight. Imagine where Blackburn would be without his contributions.

This season, Norwich City's Borja Sainz has established himself as the front-runner.....will he be on the list below come the end of the season?

Every Championship Top Scorer By Season

Alongside 2024's top performers, there have been a variety of excellent goalscorers playing in the Championship since its inception. Below is a list of every one to have topped the scoring charts at the end of a regular season.

Championship All Time Top Scorers: The Top 10

#10. Daryl Murphy and Tom Ince (93 goals)

Two experienced Championship operators are tied in 10th place with 93 goals each in the division. The majority of Murphy's came in an Ipswich Town shirt, while Ince's were divided between several clubs including Blackpool, Derby, Stoke, Reading and more. The son of United legend Paul Ince is still playing in the EFL for Stockport, while Murphy retired in 2021.

#9. Troy Deeney (95 goals)

Watford legend Troy Deeney's brief foray into management at Forest Green Rovers during 2023-24 was a bit of a disaster, but no one can take his EFL goalscoring record away from him. The former Hornet striker was known for his physical presence and ice-cold finishing skills, and those skills helped him rack up 95 goals in 278 games for Watford and latterly Birmingham City.

#8. Lukas Jutkiewicz (98 goals)

Just shy of the 100 mark, Lukas Jutkiewicz's tally highlights the Birmingham City forward's productivity during his 465 games for the Blues, Burnley, Middlesbrough, and more. A Championship Player of the Month in 2018/19 and Birmingham's Player of the Year the following season, he's a become a stalwart of the second tier.

#7. Nahki Wells (101 goals)

Wells first made his name at Bradford City in the early 2010s, winning the 2013 League Two play-offs and reaching the League Cup the same year in a historic campaign for the Yorkshire club. That led to a big move to Huddersfield Town, where he gained promotion to the Premier League and racked up 45 of his 101 Championship goals (the others coming for Burnley, QPR and Bristol City).

#6. Lewis Grabban (112 goals)

Grabban is a seasoned striker who has led the line at seven Championship clubs including Norwich City, Nottingham Forest, AFC Bournemouth and Aston Villa. A two-time Championship play-off winner with Norwich (2015) and Forest (2022), he's bagged a total of 112 goals in 281 games, a very solid return that gives him a goal per minute ratio of 179, the highest in this leaderboard.

#5. Chris Martin (114 goals)

Not many strikers have played for more Championship clubs than Grabban, but Chris Martin can count himself in that number. The 35-year-old former Scotland international has bagged a total of 114 goals in 444 appearances for eight Championship teams including Derby County, Bristol City and Norwich City (who he won automatic promotion with in 2010/11).

#4. Ross McCormack (120 goals)

McCormack's Championship career started brilliantly — after impressing in his native Scotland he was signed by Cardiff City in 2008 and racked up 23 goals in his first season. He went on to score 120 goals in 331 games (a goal every 207 minutes) before his Championship stint ended prematurely with a disappointing spell at Aston Villa and several underwhelming loan moves.

#3. David Nugent (121 goals)

David Nugent was the kind of player you'd love in your own team but hate to play against. He was industrious, physical, and ice-cold in front of goal (with a nasty streak to boot), and this combination of qualities allowed him to score 121 goals in 415 Championship games for clubs like Preston, Portsmouth, Leicester City and Derby County. As well as achieving automatic promotion with Leicester and Middlesbrough, he also won the FA Cup with Portsmouth in 2008.

#2. Jordan Rhodes (123 goals)

Rhodes has achieved four EFL promotions in his career, a seriously impressive tally that owes a lot to his goalscoring exploits. After bursting onto the scene as a prolific youngster with Huddersfield, the Scotland international has gone on to bag 219 goals in 551 league appearances in his career so far, and 123 of those goals have been in the Championship.

#1. Billy Sharp (130 goals)

Who else but Billy Sharp? The Sheffield United legend is a certified stalwart of the Championship who has made almost 400 appearances in the league as well as having stints in the Premier League and League One with his boyhood club. The 38-year-old is currently at Hull City and also had stints with Leeds United and Southampton during his illustrious EFL career, but the majority of his 130 Championship goals have been scored wearing the Blades' famous red and white stripes.

If you want to find out more about the top scorers in some of Europe's best leagues, check out our guide to the Bundesliga's all time top scorers.