This season the Championship Player of the Season award went to Leeds United‘s Crysencio Summerville, but was this correct?
With the exception of the upcoming play-offs, the 2023/24 campaign is now in the history books. Time will remember Leicester City‘s title win and Ipswich Town’s stunning march to back-to-back promotions, as well as some great individual performances.
Alongside Summerville, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Sammie Szmodics were both nominated for the Player of the Season award. However, who were the real winners this season?
Sammie Szmodics
One player who was nominated is Sammie Szmodics. The 28-year-old managed to find the net 27 times to win the Championship Golden Boot. Even more impressively, he managed to do this in a Blackburn Rovers‘ side constantly fighting relegation.
Furthermore, the Republic of Ireland international was able to do this from an attacking midfielder role. These numbers from that position are a huge anomaly and highlight his quality in this campaign. Without Szmodics, John Eustace’s side could have easily been relegated, showing his importance to the team.
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Morgan Whittaker
Morgan Whittaker has carried Plymouth Argyle in a similar fashion to Szmodics at Blackburn. 19 goals and eight assists were impressive numbers for a team at the wrong end of the table, with the Pilgrims avoiding relegation on the final day of the campaign.
Standout performances from the winger include his hat-trick in a 6-2 victory against Norwich City in September. These numbers have come as a surprise for his first season in the league, leading to rumoured interest from Italian giants Lazio.
Leif Davis
A key part of Ipswich’s promotion-winning season, Leif Davis has proved his quality in abundance. From left-back, the 24-year-old pitched in with a stunning 21 assists.
These performances were a key reason for the Tractor Boys’ success, whilst his strong defensive attributes also add to his well-rounded game. It was a surprise that the defender was not recognised with a nomination in the official award.
Writer’s View
Notable omissions from our list include Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Crysencio Summerville. However, the Leeds and Leicester stars were both featured in the official list. It is worth noting that they have performed well in Premier League-level sides with better players around them though.
It’s hard to argue against Sammie Szmodics as the standout player in the division. His contributions to his side staying up are the most important. Without him, Blackburn would have been playing in League One next season.
