Bellingham, Leeds United winger among Championship stars who cannot be sold by top six in January

As the Championship top six prepare for a gruelling promotion run-in, each team have a player they cannot afford to lose in the winter transfer window.

Gustavo Hamer (Sheffield United)
Chris Wilder had plenty of doubters – myself included – heading into this campaign, but the beloved club legend has managed to restore the feeling at Bramall Lane as Sheffield United sit pretty at the top of the Championship. His many post-Steel City derby bottles of Peroni were richly deserved.

The Blades’ success this season has been built on strong defensive foundations as Wilder’s side have only conceded nine goals in 19 games.

Defensive midfielder Vinicius Souza is a vital cog in their resolute set-up, while Michael Cooper, Harry Souttar and Anel Ahmedhodzic have also ensured the league’s table-toppers are often difficult to break down.

Despite having some of the Championship’s most talented attack-minded players, Sheff Utd have been less efficient in forward areas. Still, Hamer remains the cream of the crop and his sprinkling of stardust is usually all that’s required to settle games in his side’s favour.

The Dutchman really should have remained a Premier League player in the summer and has proven in flashes this season that he’s a class above the rest. Plenty more of Sheff Utd’s tighter games would end in draws or defeats without him.

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James Trafford (Burnley)
Sheff Utd’s defensive record is good, but it has been topped by Scott Parker’s Burnley, who have remarkably only conceded six goals in 18 Championship games.

The Clarets haven’t been ‘The Entertainers’ this season; they have been quite the opposite. Parker arrived with virtually no fanfare and his playing style is not winning supporters over. Due to this, it feels like he remains on thin ice despite his side’s four-match winning run moving them into the automatic promotion places.

The resurgence of Trafford has been a major factor in Burnley’s success this season. His placement as a Premier League No.1 perhaps came too soon, but the Englishman was not helped by Vincent Kompnay’s naive tactics and wide-open defence as the inexperienced goalkeeper was left exposed.

With the help of a meaner defence, Trafford has returned to form this season and it remains only a matter of time before he is bought by a Premier League club (Newcastle United, perhaps). He also remains on track to eventually dislodge Jordan Pickford as Thomas Tuchel’s first-choice England goalkeeper.

Wilfried Gnonto (Leeds United)
Leeds United’s end to the 2024/25 season was disastrous; their run-in slump saw them miss out on second place before they suffered play-off heartache at Wembley. To make matters worse, they then sold three of their best players as Archie Gray, Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter secured Premier League moves in the summer.

It goes to show how strong Leeds United were last season that they were still earmarked as promotion favourites heading into this campaign and were boosted by Gnonto deciding to stick around.

Amid interest from Everton, Gnonto looked certain to leave Leeds United at some stage following their relegation in 2023, though he eventually earned the trust of manager Daniel Farke and somewhat surprisingly penned a four-year contract extension before this season.

Without Summerville and Rutter, Gnonto has stepped up and is unlucky not to be in our Championship team of the season so far. The 21-year-old is maturing and on track for his best Leeds season to date. The promotion-chasers cannot afford to let him slip if Premier League clubs renew their interest in the winter.

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Jobe Bellingham (Sunderland)
Bellingham – one of Sunderland’s many star boys – remains a fair few levels below his older brother, but the 19-year-old still has a case to be the best teenager in the Football League and his side will come under increasing pressure from interested clubs in the coming months.

Much like the Real Madrid sensation, the Sunderland midfielder has been moved into a deeper role this season and this has been to his benefit.

In the summer, we tipped Bellingham and nine other Championship stars for Premier League moves and such a transfer remains in his immediate future unless he follows in his brother’s footsteps and joins Borussia Dortmund.

Sunderland are arguably ahead of schedule as they have emerged as a credible promotion contender with a very young squad. Manager Regis Le Bris will be keen to keep the core of this group together for several years, but he may have to admit defeat with Bellingham as he’s primed for grander pastures. A delay until the summer feels like the best-case scenario for the Black Cats.

Finn Azaz (Middlesbrough)
This list has already featured some of the best players the Championship has to offer, but none are in better form than Boro’s attacking midfielder.

Middlesbrough’s recent 1-0 loss to Blackburn Rovers was a blot on their record, but they were without Azaz. Michael Carrick’s side are still in form, winning four in five and scoring 18 goals in the process.

Azaz has been in the thick of the action, grabbing five goals and four assists in just four matches to emerge as the standout performer in the Championship.

Aston Villa sold the 24-year-old to Boro for around £2.5m during the 2024 winter transfer window and he’s quickly proven a bargain. Premier League sides would be silly not to ask about signing him in January and Unai Emery’s side could even repeat the Jaden Philogene trick and re-sign their former academy product.

Giorgi Chakvetadze (Watford)
Along with Sunderland, Watford have been one of this season’s surprise packages in the Championship after fans and rivals suspected a nervy relegation battle was on the cards for the mismanaged side.

Novice boss Tom Cleverley seemed to be up against it amid the backdrop of the Pozzo family’s ownership, but the former Manchester United midfielder has settled into management far better than former teammate Wayne Rooney, who could step into League Two next.

Cleverley has been expertly helped along by the performances of Georgia international Chakvetadze, who has kicked on after featuring prominently for his country at Euro 2024.

The versatile winger has also been used as an attacking midfielder and centre-forward this season and has been Cleverley’s main creative outlet with four assists.

Watford will do well to remain in the play-offs by the end of the season. If they do, it’ll be largely thanks to the performances of their resident Georgian.