The EFL Championship is one of the most exciting leagues in the world. With a reputation of being one of the most competitive divisions in Europe, England's second tier rarely fails to disappoint when it comes to drama, intrigue and entertainment.
Many great players have graced the Championship since its most recent rebranding when it left its old First Division moniker behind, with countless goals scored over the past 20 years.
We know football was not invented in 2004, but who has scored the most at this level since then? Football FanCast has the definitive list of the EFL Championship's best goalscorers since the 2004/05 season.
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ByLuke RandallMay 20, 2024 12 Charlie Austin – 88 goals Burnley, QPR, West Brom
Club
Goals
Burnley
40
Queens Park Rangers
38
West Bromwich Albion
10
Charlie Austin is undoubtedly one of the greatest Championship goal machines, and the only reason he is not higher on this list is because Premier League clubs couldn't help but take notice.
Making his name at Swindon Town, Austin's transfer to Burnley in 2011 started a love affair between him and Championship goals. Between the 2011/12 and 2014/15 seasons, the lowest goals tally Austin racked up was 16 – and one of those campaigns was in the top flight with QPR, who he helped fire to the Premier League in his first season there.
While his top-tier journey saw him also turn out for Southampton, a last hurrah saw Austin notch ten goals as West Brom were promoted in 2020. Failing to find the net once they made it there, he dropped back down to help himself to 12 more QPR goals in a division he knows all too well.
11 Tom Ince – 93 goals Derby, Blackpool, Stoke, Reading, Watford
Club
Goals
Derby County
37
Blackpool
31
Stoke City
12
Reading
11
Watford
2
Even without a famous father to catch people's attention, Tom Ince started to make a name for himself when he burst onto the scene with Blackpool, who he took to the brink of play-off glory in 2011/12.
Unfortunately, his tally of 18 the following campaign is as good as it’s got for Ince since, but he has continued to put away goals for most of the second-tier clubs he's played for – only Luton Town and Nottingham Forest were denied the pleasure.
Nearing a century of goals at senior level at the time of writing, Ince has more than proved his worth in the Championship.
10 Daryl Murphy – 93 goals Ipswich, Nottingham Forest, Sunderland, Newcastle
Club
Goals
Ipswich Town
67
Nottingham Forest
11
Sunderland
10
Newcastle United
5
Retiring over two years ago now, Daryl Murphy secures a place above Ince by virtue of making fewer appearances (Murphy has 329 compared to Ince's 386), having also notched 93 times.
The Irishman came over to English football in 2005, where he eventually got among the goals at Sunderland. Following a barren spell in the Premier League and a brief, fruitless stint at Celtic, Murphy returned to the second tier to show what he was best at.
Ipswich Town were the lucky recipients of his best form, with Murphy hitting double figures in three of his five seasons at Portman Road – including an impressive 27 in 2014/15 as the Tractor Boys fell in the play-offs.
9 Troy Deeney – 95 goals Watford, Birmingham
Club
Goals
Watford
84
Birmingham City
11
To say his managerial career may not have gotten off to the best of starts is putting it lightly, but it would be remiss of anyone to dismiss Troy Deeney's prowess in front of goal.
Starting out at Walsall, Deeney got his big break at Watford, where, aside from being imprisoned for assault, he became a true Hornets hero, not least by firing them to the Premier League in 2015, by which point he had put together three consecutive 20-goal campaigns.
His greatest Championship moment undoubtedly came in the 2012/13 play-offs, when his breakaway goal from Anthony Knockaert's missed penalty for Leicester City sent Vicarage Road into raptures – and Watford to Wembley.
8 Lukas Jutkiewicz – 97 goals Birmingham, Coventry, Middlesbrough, Bolton
Club
Goals
Birmingham City
61
Coventry City
18
Middlesbrough
11
Bolton Wanderers
7
Lukas Jutkiewicz has become a prolific Championship striker despite never reaching 15 goals in a single season. His best tally remains 14 in back-to-back campaigns between 2018 and 2020. Now an experienced veteran at this level – he has over 450 Championship games under his belt – Jutkiewicz is closing in on a century of second-tier goals.
However, he has only featured once under new Birmingham boss Tony Mowbray so far, so has work to do in order to reach the magic 100 this term.
7 Nahki Wells – 97 goals Huddersfield, Bristol City, QPR
Club
Goals
Huddersfield Town
45
Bristol City
32
Queens Park Rangers
20
Featuring almost 100 fewer times than Jutkiewicz is 31-year-old Nahki Wells. Another whose numbers appear to flatter to deceive, his consistent ability to reach double figures (he has hit ten or more in six of his eight full Championship campaigns to date) means only few can rival his goalscoring record.
Huddersfield Town profited most from Wells' clinical nature in front of goal after he made his way through the EFL divisions. Wells also grabbed ten in the Terriers' promotion campaign of 2016/17.
Now seen ripping it up at Bristol City these days, he's been the Robins' top league goalscorer for two of the past three seasons, so he's still got it.
6 Lewis Grabban – 112 goals Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth, Norwich, Sunderland, Aston Villa, Reading & Crystal Palace
Club
Goals
Nottingham Forest
54
Bournemouth
22
Norwich City
12
Sunderland
12
Aston Villa
8
Reading
3
Crystal Palace
1
On to those who have hit a ton of Championship goals, Lewis Grabban was someone who certainly knew where the target was. Currently without a club for little over a year, Grabban was last spotted in the Championship still bagging goals aplenty for Nottingham Forest at the age of 34.
One can only imagine how many more he could have got had he not spent two years in the Premier League after getting promoted with Norwich City, before re-joining former club Bournemouth.
Thankfully, Grabban eventually rediscovered his scoring touch in the second tier, particularly at Forest, who he also helped to promotion in 2021/22.
5 Chris Martin – 114 goals Derby, Bristol City, Fulham, Norwich, Crystal Palace, QPR, Hull & Reading
Club
Goals
Derby County
67
Bristol City
15
Fulham
10
Norwich City
8
Crystal Palace
7
Queens Park Rangers
4
Hull City
2
Reading
1
The fact Chris Martin is the player on this list with the most clubs on his Championship CV suggests he can seamlessly adapt to his teams' respective needs.
His peak certainly came while at Derby County, where he netted 55 league goals in three seasons between 2013 and 2016. Given he had a period where he found minutes hard to come by in the years that followed, he really could have left even more of the players here in his wake with a little more luck.
Still proving his marksman capabilities in League One with Bristol Rovers at present, you never know if Martin's time in the Championship is done just yet.
4 Ross McCormack – 120 goals Leeds, Fulham, Cardiff, Aston Villa & Nottingham Forest
Club
Goals
Leeds United
53
Fulham
38
Cardiff City
25
Aston Villa
3
Nottingham Forest
1
Ross McCormack is certainly a case of what could have been. Following time in his native Scotland and a long stint in the English Championship where he scored everywhere he went, McCormack departed for Australia before his football career tailed off.
The Scotsman has the distinction of hitting 20 for three different clubs – most recently Fulham in 2015/16. His goalscoring feats came all amid some acrimonious departures throughout his career, with his Leeds exit in particular – for big money, Championship-wise – threatening to overshadow the fact that only three players have scored more at this level.
3 David Nugent – 121 goals Leicester, Preston, Derby, Portsmouth & Middlesbrough
Club
Goals
Leicester City
49
Preston North End
34
Derby County
17
Portsmouth
13
Middlesbrough
8
While his most famous goal arguably came in a Three Lions shirt, David Nugent is one of the best-ever Championship marksmen.
Hitting double figures on six occasions during his time in the second tier – including 20 in Leicester City's title-winning campaign in 2013/14 – Nugent was the previous all-time goalscorer in the Championship until his record was broken in 2022.
That record is thanks to prolific spells at Preston, Portsmouth and the King Power, before returning to the second tier to continue his fine exploits in front of goal at Middlesbrough and Derby. While he never sparkled at the dizzying heights of the Premier League, his impact in the division below is almost unrivalled.