Leeds United and Middlesbrough stars feature: 3 surprise packages in the Championship so far

#2 Mateusz Klich

Age: 28

Club: Leeds United

Leeds’ summer signing last season had a frustrating spell under then boss Thomas Christiansen who rarely handed him first-team minutes. Klich, who joined the Whites from Dutch outfit FC Twente, was eventually loaned back to Eredivisie earlier this year to spend the remainder of the campaign with FC Utrecht.

Klich, though, re-joined the squad during pre-season and impressed new chief Marcelo Bielsa.  He scored the first goal in the very first game of El Loco era and inspired them to clinch a winning start against heavyweights Stoke City.

The Pole again bagged one in the next encounter versus Derby County at Pride Park exhibiting his goal-scoring attribute despite featuring in a box-to-box role.

The Polish international has netted thrice so far, assisted once, attempted 1.2 shots per outing and also maintained an 83% pass accuracy so far while building the game up from the middle of the park.

Klich has showcased his defensive ability too with 1.5 tackles-a-game and this all-round potential has played a pivotal role in Leeds’ emergence as league leaders prior to season’s first international break.

#1 Neal Maupay

Age: 22

Club: Brentford

The Frenchman joined the Bees last summer and enjoyed a productive campaign with 12 goals from 42 Championship outfit. The attacker has been in even better form this term and is currently leading the race for the Golden Boot with 5 goals and 3 assists from 4 league outings.

He has a low centre of gravity but is known for his pace, down the middle runs, versatility and solid passing.

Maupay has attempted 3.3 shots along with 2.3 key passes per game – some astounding numbers that have guided Brentford into the top six.

Stats via Whoscored