Leeds United, Leicester, Southampton trio among six Championship stars tipped for January exits | OneFootball

Crysencio Summerville, Kelechi Iheanacho and Che Adams.

Leeds United’s promotion hopes arguably hinge on them keeping Crysencio Summerville. He and five more Championship standouts may be set for January exits…

Che Adams (Southampton) Targeted by Everton and Wolves in the summer, Adams was expected to be part of the post-relegation mass Southampton exodus but ended up sticking around to be part of the new Russell Martin-led regime.

After starting the 2023/24 campaign with three goals in three games, Adams has been a bit-part player and has largely played second fiddle to Adam Armstrong, who has done his reputation of being a Championship specialist no harm with 21 goal involvements in 25 outings this term.

Having made a sluggish start to the season, Southampton have gone 16 matches unbeaten to set themselves up as serious contenders for automatic promotion.

If Martin was to get his way, he would surely prefer to keep Adams for the rest of this season. But with him out of contract next year, the Saints may be wise to cash in on their attacker so they do not lose him for nothing in the summer.

Jack Clarke (Sunderland) The former Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur starlet was fully expected to leave for the bright lights of the Premier League in the summer but in a major boost to Sunderland’s promotion hopes, the winger stuck around.

Clarke – who is reportedly valued at around £20m – was linked with Brentford and Burnley but Sunderland kept him after standing firm on their price tag.

Sunderland are not exactly a one-man team, but they would not be half the side they are without Clarke, who has 11 goals in 25 appearances this term.

Clarke’s performances this season will not dissuade clubs from pursuing him in January and if a bid of around £20m is submitted by a panic-stricken Premier League side, Sunderland’s hands would be tied and a sale – as gutting as it would be for their supporters – would be difficult to turn down.

Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City) Upon taking his first manager’s job in English football, Enzo Maresca’s life was made a whole lot easier by Leicester City having one of the best squads in Championship history.

Maresca has the luxury of being spoilt for choice in pretty much every position and that is particularly the case in the striker department. Iheanacho, Patson Daka and Jamie Vardy are Premier League-calibre assets operating in the league below.

The summer window gossip columns indicated Iheanacho and Daka were vying for their respective Leicester futures, with both linked with a return to the Premier League.

Iheanacho was winning the battle at the start of the season but he has recently been usurped by Daka, who has four goals and two assists in his last six games.

The former Man City striker meanwhile has been omitted from Leicester’s squad in recent weeks and with the winter transfer window set to open, the signs suggest his days with the Foxes are numbered.

Viktor Johansson (Rotherham United) This one will break my heart, but here we go. The Sweden international has been one of (if not the) best goalkeepers in the Championship over the past 18 months and if it weren’t for him, Rotherham would have been relegated last season and *even* further cut adrift this term.

Rotherham have improved under new head coach Leam Richardson but relegation still looks pretty certain. Selling your prized asset during a fight to avoid the drop may seem defeatist, but it would be wise in the sense that January would be the optimum time to cash in, before they’re relegated, with his contract expiring in 2025.

If they drive a hard bargain, the Millers could get around £5m for the former Leicester starlet and for a club of the South Yorkshire outfit’s size, this money could go a long way in giving themselves a greater fighting chance of survival or to help their rebuild in League One.

Jack Rudoni (Huddersfield Town) Speaking of a relegation candidate selling their prized asset, here we have Huddersfield and Rudoni.

Huddersfield pulled off a major coup when they reportedly beat Sunderland and Luton Town to the £1m signing of Rudoni from AFC Wimbledon and he enjoyed a strong debut season as Neil Warnock masterminded their end-of-season march towards safety.

At the start of this campaign, Huddersfield’s struggles have continued but Rudoni remains their star player and journalist Darren Witcoop revealed Premier League teams ‘have and will continue to monitor his progress’ at The John Smith’s Stadium.

Aged 22, Rudoni has enhanced his reputation by sticking out in a poor Huddersfield side and he will only get better as he gathers more experience and eventually plays at a higher level. Low-end Premier League sides should get ahead of the curve and snap him up in January before competition for his signature ramps up further.

Crysencio Summerville (Leeds United) One of few good performers in Leeds United’s relegation season, Summerville was linked with Premier League and European clubs in the summer but has spent this campaign as one of the best players in the Championship.

If Leeds were going to keep any player from last season, Summerville would have been their first choice and he has lit up the English second tier. While their promotion tilt has stuttered in recent weeks, the winger has been sensational while grabbing 11 goals and six assists in 22 appearances.

Leeds United’s 4-0 win over Ipswich Town was a major boost to their automatic promotion hopes but their good work in that game has since been undone in consecutive defeats to Preston and West Brom.

Now at risk of being cut adrift by Leicester, Ipswich Town and Southampton, the sale of Summerville will be the last thing they need. But the Dutchman will have his pick of clubs around Europe in January, and with Fabrizio Romano already flaunting his name in tweets with January just days away, Leeds United supporters may soon be even more hot under the collar.