, Debate: Best player at every Championship side: Bournemouth-Birmingham

Debate: Best player at every Championship side: Bournemouth-Birmingham

Debate: Best player at every Championship side: Bournemouth-Birmingham

Hello, welcome to a new series of articles between me (Zak Armitage) and Seán Walker. In these articles we will each debate, who we think is the best player at every team in the Championship. In part 1 we will debate who we think are the best players at Bournemouth, Barnsley and Birmingham.

A.F.C BOURNEMOUTH

Seán: David Brooks

My choice is David Brooks, an experienced player in the top two divisions in England and at international level at just 23 years of age,. Being ever-present in this Bournemouth side since his £11.5m switch from Sheffield to the sunny south. After picking up lots of interest in the summer, to everyone’s surprise (including mine), David Brooks stayed at Bournemouth. The Welsh international has picked up just where he left off, already picking up three assists and two goals in 428 minutes of football. Ridiculous statistics. I did debate choosing Arnaut Danjuma, who has been excellent this season scoring five goals already this season, but Brooks’ assist on the weekend made me question if Brooks is the best player in The Championship – let alone the best player at Bournemouth. Brooks has so much to his game, skill, pace, positional awareness, agility, quick feet – absolutely everything you want in a number 10, well, David Brooks has it.

Zak: Dominic Solanke

While Seán has opted for David Brooks, I’ve gone for Dominic Solanke. This is the season where he finally demonstrates his qualities, and fires Bournemouth to a Premier League return.

Solanke arrived at Dean Court for a staggering £19m, and before the start of this season he hadn’t shown any signs of living up to his price tag. However Bournemouth’s relegation last season could be a blessing in disguise for the former England international, as it gives him a chance to to flourish without the watchful eyes of the Premier League.

The striker has big shoes to fill this season after the departure of Callum Wilson, but I think he is more than capable of filling them. Solanke appears to be growing in confidence under new manager Jason Tindall, and to me it seems evident that he is Bournemouth’s best player.

BARNSLEY

Seán: Cauley Woodrow

Barnsley have been in brilliant form recently, despite the departure of the highly-rated Gerhard Struber, Valérien Ismaël has won four of his last six games. Ismaël must have been jumping for joy taking his first training session and seeing what Cauley Woodrow has to offer though, as similar to David Brooks, even at a fairly young age at 25 Woodrow has played an awful lot of EFL football and is really coming into his own now. Often the main man with Chaplin in support, Woodrow has an abundance of attributes to offer, making him a nuisance to play against. If it’s his link-up play, positional awareness or technical ability – Woodrow is a complete forward and I expect him to be up there in the top scorer ranks at the end of the season.

Zak: Alex Mowatt

While Sean has made a compelling case for Cauley Woodrow, I have gone for the equally important club captain Alex Mowatt. Part of a star studded Leeds midfield that included Lewis Cook, Mowatt began to find his chances limited at Elland Road, and has improved game by game since his arrival at Oakwell in 2017.

If Valérien Ismaël is to retain Barnsley’s championship status this season Alex Mowatt will be vital. Now 25 years old Mowatt has tons of experience, and always seems to deliver top performances for the Tykes. If the Reds can keep hold of their captain in the upcoming January transfer window, his influence should be enough to steer Barnsley away from a relegation dogfight.

BIRMINGHAM CITY

Seán: Mikel San José

This might sound like I have played this one safe, as Mikel San José was undoubtedly the biggest name in the Birmingham City team prior to Halilovic’s recent arrival. However, I think I have done the opposite. Ivan Sanchez, Jeremie Bela and Lukas Jutkiewicz are all performers who either score goals, get fans off their feet or have brilliant technical ability – in Sanchez’s case, you arguably have all three. I have chosen Mikel San José though, as at just 31 years of age he still has it in his locker to produce performances nobody else in the squad is capable of. We have seen glimpses of that this season, especially against Preston and Coventry, but the consistent ability Mikel San José showed in La Liga has made me excited for him to hopefully prove me right, and soon become the best performer at Birmingham week in week out. I am hoping the Spanish international can compliment Halilović and Šunjić, as that midfield three could have the potential to make Birmingham City challenge the top half of the league once again.

Zak: Ivan Šunjić

For Birmingham I have opted for San Jose’s midfield partner, Croatian Ivan Šunjić. I have been impressed with the defensive minded midfielder since his arrival in English football last year. And after the departure of Jude Bellingham over the summer, he appears to have taken his game up another level comfortably filling in the shoes of the England wonderkid, now of Borussia Dortmund.

Šunjić arrived at St Andrew’s for a fee believed to be in the region of 7 million Euros, and is proving to be worth every penny. The Croatian’s adaptability should see him fit perfectly in Aitor Karanka’s setup. Alongside San Jose and recent arrival Halilović, I feel that the Blues have the best midfield in the division, with Šunjić the best of the three, and the best in my opinion of the whole Birmingham team.

Bournemouth, Barnsley and Birmingham fans what do you make of our selections? Do you agree with the choices we made?

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