The Championship players hoping to follow Ollie Watkins in becoming new Premier

Exciting talent in the Championship does not just impact England’s second tier, these players act as potential pointers towards the next generation of Premier League stars.

2020 saw the likes Ollie Watkins, Jarrod Bowen, Eberechi Eze and Said Benrahma make the leap from tier two to tier one and look at home in the top-flight. 

With a new calendar year on the way, Sportsmail shortlists the next potential Championship stars who could end 2021 in the top-flight – either through the transfer market or through their own side…

Said Benhrama (L) and Ollie Watkins (R) both swapped Brentford for the top-flight in 2020

Jarrod Bowen (L) and Eberechi Eze (R) also moved to the Premier League from the second tier

Ivan Toney (Brentford) 

Linked team: Tottenham

Brentford have a knack of producing players ready for the top-flight. The west Londoners have helped develop James Tarkowski, Neal Maupay, Ezri Konsa and John Egan over the years and the Premier League production line does not look like slowing down.

The Bees sold former striker Watkins to Aston Villa this summer for around £30million and used that money to fund a transfer for Peterborough United man Ivan Toney – who was last season’s League One Player of the Year.  

The 24-year-old has settled into life at Brentford very easily and currently leads the Championship top scorers list with 16 goals in his first 19 matches. 

Ivan Toney (middle) has been a star for Brentford this season with 16 goals in 19 matches

Before making the switch from Posh to west London, Toney had caught the eye of Tottenham Hotspur through their scout David Pleat – who urged Spurs owner Daniel Levy to sign the League One striker over the summer. 

Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony told the Hard Truth podcast this month: ‘David Pleat saw Ivan Toney as a no-brainer. He thought the cost was low, his wages would be low, he would be an easy addition to the Tottenham squad. 

‘He was a good age and if it didn’t come off for Tottenham they would probably sell him double the money to a Championship team.’

Toney was wanted by Jose Mourinho’s Spurs but they signed Carlos Vinicius (right) instead

Jose Mourinho’s Spurs opted to bring in Benfica’s Carlos Vinicius on a loan deal as back-up for first-choice Harry Kane, though the Premier League side do not have a deal in place to make the Brazilian’s deal permanent. 

Should Spurs opt to let Vinicius go at the end of the season, the north Londoners could return for Toney after his excellent form for Brentford in the second tier.  

Emiliano Buendia (Norwich)

Linked team: Arsenal 

Earlier this month, Arsenal sporting director Edu revealed the Gunners’ priority position to aim for during the January transfer window – an attacking midfielder to connect the heart of their side to their misfiring attack. 

While they missed out on Hungarian midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai, who moved to RB Leipzig from Salzburg in December, a potential back-up option could well be…