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Top 3 Left-Backs in the Championship for 2017 featuring Ipswich Town and Bristol stars

Joe Byran

Top 3 Left-Backs in the Championship for 2017

There are plenty of contenders for this list but, as is the nature of the beast, any good attacking left-backs that come along tend to be snapped up.

As such, the likes of Scott Malone and Charlie Taylor are no longer in this division while Paul Dummett of course went up with Newcastle United

Barry Douglas would naturally make a list like this one with all things being equal, however, in his attacking role as a left wing-back at Wolves it may not be entirely accurate to call him a left-back and in any case, he has only been in this division for four months or so of this year and who knows how he would have done last season.

The best three for my money are:

Jonas Knudsen – Ipswich Town

Consistently good left-backs are notoriously hard to find, especially ones who stick around in this league and aren’t understandably poached by Premier League clubs. Knudsen is one such example though, after a couple of seasons of solid play at Ipswich Town, especially bearing in mind the level at which his club has been playing.

Knudsen is improving too and has 6 assists from this position this season so far, a player worthy of a place on this list.

Joe Bennett – Cardiff City

Given that Cardiff allowed Declan John to go up and join Rangers on loan, you’d think Bennett has to be good and he is.

Solid over the whole of this calendar year, Bennett has scored 3 goals from this position in 34 appearances and so provides a little attacking help as well as being part of what is now a very solid defensive proposition alongside the likes of Bamba and Morrison.

Joe Bryan – Bristol City

A slightly unusual choice at No.1 given he plays as a left-midfield player, very successfully too, but Bryan when playing in this position has been consistently excellent all year and is unique in that he doesn’t simply wish to indulge in his attacking instincts when asked to play in this role.

For a player who finishes expertly – see his goal against Manchester United in the league cup – Bryan in fact has a record of no goals and just 2 assists from 31 left-back appearances in 2017, showing that he can stay back when required and allow the forwards to do their job.

This lad will be in the Premier League next season one way or the other, whether it’s with Bristol City remains to be seen.