Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
Ian Mitchelmore

Swansea City, Newport County and Wales stars among 50 best players outside Premier League but no Cardiff City player gets in

Swansea City hit-man Joel Piroe has been listed among the English Football League's top 50 players for the 2021-22 season.

Piroe comes in as the 32nd best talent in the three divisions below the Premier League in a poll conducted by Four Four Two. He is the only Swansea player to be included on the list, although no Cardiff City players make the cut.

Gifted former Bluebirds star Harry Wilson is near the very top of the poll, however, with fellow Wales talent Brennan Johnson also making the top five after his exploits for Nottingham Forest this year. Two ex-Swans Morgan Gibbs-White (Sheffield Unitdd) and Viktor Gyokeres (Coventry City) are 13th and 17th respectively.

Read more: Joel Piroe is just lethal in front of goal as Swansea City boss reveals major asset which makes him a 'top striker'

While Piroe is the sole player from Swansea or Cardiff to get in, a number of Wales stars do make the cut, while there is also a place for Newport County's front-runner Dominic Telford. He is ranked at number 28.

Dutchman Piroe has been nothing short of a revelation since joining Swansea from PSV Eindhoven last summer, scoring 18 times to date in his debut campaign in South Wales. His record makes him the Championship's fifth top scorer for the season. You can read about his latest strike against Millwall here.

Wilson is rated as the third best player outside the Premier League in the domestic game after thriving for Fulham, joining the Cottagers from Liverpool during the summer.

He is one of a number of Wales stars to feature, with Johnson fourth after shining so brightly for Forest. Stoke's Joe Allen takes the 50th and final spot, while Jonny Williams - currently with Swindon Town in League Two - is 44th.

Wales newcomer Sorba Thomas also gets in after his form with Huddersfield, as does ex-Wales under-21 international Joe Jacobson who was on Cardiff City's books and these days thrives lower down the scale with Wycombe.

Will Joel Piroe still be at Swansea City next season? Have your say in the comments section below.

Fulham marksman Aleksandar Mitrovic - who broke the record for the highest number of Championship goals scored in a season with 14 matches left to play - is ranked as the best player in the EFL, with Blackburn Rovers forward Ben Brereton Diaz taking runner-up spot.

FourFourTwo's top 50 EFL players

50. Joe Allen (Stoke City)

49. Peter Clarke (Tranmere Rovers)

48. Matt Jay (Exeter City)

47. Cameron Brannagan (Oxford United)

46. Emil Riis Jakobsen (Preston North End)

45. James McClean (Wigan Athletic)

44. Jonny Williams (Swindon Town)

43. Matty Stevens (Forest Green Rovers)

42. Elijah Adebayo (Luton Town)

41. Barry Bannan (Sheffield Wednesday)

40. Will Keane (Wigan Athletic)

39. Joe Jacobson (Wycombe Wanderers)

38. Kane Wilson (Forest Green Rovers)

37. Billy Sharp (Sheffield Utd)

36. Dan Barlaser (Rotherham United)

35. Dapo Afolayan (Bolton Wanderers)

34. Andreas Weimann (Bristol City)

33. Jamille Matt (Forest Green Rovers)

32. Joel Piroe (Swansea City)

31. Joe Rothwell (Blackburn Rovers)

30. Antoine Semenyo (Bristol City)

29. Sam Johnstone (West Bromwich Albion)

28. Dominic Telford (Newport County)

27. Cole Stockton (Morecambe)

26. Jed Wallace (Millwall)

25. Ross Stewart (Sunderland)

24. Isaiah Jones (Middlesbrough)

23. Darragh Lenihan (Blackburn Rovers)

22. Sorba Thomas (Huddersfield Town)

21. Michael Smith (Rotherham United)

20. Neeskens Kebano (Fulham)

19. Lloyd Kelly (Bournemouth)

18. Lewis O'Brien (Huddersfield Town)

17. Viktor Gyokeres (Coventry City)

16. Keane Lewis-Potter (Hull City)

15. Josh Bowler (Blackpool)

14. Scott Twine (MK Dons)

13. Morgan Gibbs-White (Sheff U)

12. Djed Spence (Nottingham Forest)

11. Ilias Chair (Queens Park Rangers)

10. Rob Dickie (Queens Park Rangers)

9. Philip Billing (Bournemouth)

8. John Swift (Reading)

7. Chris Willock (Queens Park Rangers)

6. Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth)

5. Fabio Carvalho (Fulham)

4. Brennan Johnson (Nottingham Forest)

3. Harry Wilson (Fulham)

2. Ben Brereton Diaz (Blackburn Rovers)

1. Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham)

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.