In 2019 the Championship had serious talent with names to rival the Prem

While footballers boast dreams of playing in the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga or even a big-money move to Saudi Arabia, the EFL is where so many players have taken their first steps to stardom.

You only have to look at the year 2019 as a perfect example, with a plethora of top-level stars appearing during the calendar year.

Here, talkSPORT looks a look at some of the names who made up a star-studded Championship line-up just four years ago.

Jude Bellingham (Birmingham City)

Europe's best young player may be strutting his stuff at the Santiago Bernabeu with Real Madrid now, but four years ago he was playing for Birmingham City.

Bellingham has always been proud of playing for his beloved Blues and it was at St Andrews where he made 44 appearances before moving on to Borussia Dortmund

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Emiliano Martinez (Reading)

After struggling for first team football with Arsenal, Martinez spent the second half of the 2018/19 season with Reading, making 18 appearances.

Four years on and the 31-year-old is playing week in, week out for Champions League-chasing Aston Villa having also won the World Cup with Argentina last year.

Ben White (Leeds)

The defender is part of Mikel Arteta's Arsenal team who are hoping to secure the Premier League title this term.

However White spent the 2019/20 playing under Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds United where he played a key role in playing out from the back as the Whites romped to the Championship title.

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Matty Cash (Nottingham Forest)

Before earning an opportunity in the Premier League with newly-promoted Aston Villa, Cash was ripping it up with Nottingham Forest.

The wing-back was pushing for the play-offs at the City Ground and finished 9th and 7th respectively in 2019 and 2020, before moving on.

Mason Mount

Mount may be struggling to make an impression with Manchester United, but four years ago he was attracting plenty of plaudits at Derby.

Managed by Frank Lampard, the midfielder scored nine times as the Rams made it all the way to the play-off final in 2019, only to be beaten by Aston Villa as Mount completed his loan spell and returned to Chelsea.

Jack Grealish (Aston Villa)

A man who was on the winning side in the 2019 play-off final was Grealish.

Now a £100million man, the England star can credit three seasons in the Championship for getting his career back on track as he started to show his true ability and potential to become one of the best players in the country.

Michael Olise (Reading)

After spells in the academy of Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City, Olise landed in Reading where he emerged as one of the most exciting players in the EFL.

However it was 2020/21 where he lit up the Championship, earning a move to Crystal Palace where he's now regarded as one of the most talented players outside of the top six.

Tammy Abraham (Aston Villa)

Abraham may be one of Serie A's most lethal attackers with Roma, but the former Chelsea youngster showed he was ready to step up in a loan spell with Aston Villa.

Having already shone on loan at Bristol City and Swansea, Abraham scored 26 goals to help Villa to promotion via the play-offs in 2019.

Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford)

One of several players who rose to Premier League prominence through the Brentford system.

Joining the Bees in 2019, Mbeumo scored 16 goals and provided eight assists as they reached the play-off final, only to be beaten by west London rivals Fulham at Wembley.

Emile Smith Rowe (Huddersfield)

One of Arsenal's most talented academy graduates, Smith Rowe had struggled for first team football after injury disrupted a loan spell with RB Leipzig in 2018.

But joining Huddersfield in 2019, the midfielder scored twice in 19 appearances for the Terriers in a loan spell that laid the foundations for his first team breakthrough in north London the following year.

Eddie Nketiah (Leeds)

The striker was signed by Leeds in 2019 to bolster Marcelo Bielsa's attacking line with a view to a promotion push.

However while scoring five times, Nketiah failed to nail down a starting spot at Elland Road and returned to Arsenal for the second half of the 2019/20 season.

David Raya (Blackburn/Brentford)

The Spaniard is involved in a battle for the number one jersey with Aaron Ramsdale at Arsenal right now, but at Brentford the position was all his.

After shining in 108 appearances for Blackburn, Raya joined the Bees where he helped to take them all the way to the Premier League, establishing as one of the league's most difficult sides to play.

Fikayo Tomori (Derby)

Another member of the Chelsea academy who made the move to Derby with Frank Lampard.

In that season he made 52 appearances for the Rams and took them to the play-off final where they fell short against Aston Villa.

Ezri Konsa (Brentford)

While he's now a fully fledged member of the England squad, the Aston Villa man had just stepped up to the Championship in 2019.

After 86 appearances with Charlton, Konsa joined Brentford where he enjoyed a stellar season under Dean Smith who subsequently opted to take him to Aston Villa after one year in west London.

Reece James (Wigan)

He might be Chelsea's captain now, but James found himself in a Championship relegation battle with Wigan in 2018/19.

Playing as a central midfielder, the England international was a standout performer for the Latics as they comfortably avoided the drop before he returned to Stamford Bridge to become a regular first-teamer under Frank Lampard.

Kalvin Phillips (Leeds)

First team football may be hard to come by at Manchester City, but in 2019 Phillips was the main man at Elland Road.

Operating in a quarter-back role, the Leeds-born star was reborn under Marcelo Bielsa and was the beating heart of the side who stormed to automatic promotion.

Conor Gallagher (Charlton/Swansea)

A player who has risen to every challenge that he's faced in his career, including a loan spell with Charlton in 2019.

His first exposure to first team football, Gallagher was a shining star at the Valley, earning the chance to leave the relegation-strugglers in favour of several months on loan with play-off chasing Swansea.

Eberechi Eze (QPR)

After 18 months at Loftus Road, the 2019/20 campaign saw Eze show the football world what he was really all about.

A total of 14 goals and eight assists earned him a move to Crystal Palace in 2020 where the midfielder has since made over 100 appearances.

Jarrod Bowen (Hull City)

Bowen has scored some crucial goals since joining West Ham in January 2019, but that was a habit he picked up long before that.

In a struggling Hull team, the forward scored 54 goals in 131 appearances for the Tigers, including 17 in six months to earn his switch to the London Stadium.

Ollie Watkins (Brentford)

He's one of the Premier League's most complete attackers, a skillset he picked up during three wonderful years with Brentford.

The 2019/20 season saw Watkins score 26 times to take them to the play-off final, before Dean Smith took him to Villa Park after Brentford lost to Fulham at Wembley Stadium.

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Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham)

After leaving Newcastle for Fulham in 2018, Mitrovic became one of the Championship's most feared attackers.

His first full season in the second tier saw him score 26 times to help the west Londoners to play-off glory in the summer of 2019.