An amazing XI of EFL legends who we can’t believe never played in the Premier League

Former Leeds United , Sheffield Wednesday and Bristol City heroes are among the EFL legends that never made it to the Premier League .

From the Championship to League Two, the EFL has been home to hundreds of ballers over the years, but not all of them made a name for themselves in the top flight.

We’ve compiled an amazing XI of EFL legends, from the modern era, who never played in the Premier League .

Note: In order to qualify for this XI, a player can’t have ever played in the Premier League , even one minute in the top division rules them out of this XI.

Bialkowski is one of only five goalkeepers who’ve kept over 100 clean sheets in the Championship, but he’s the only one who never played in the Premier League .

For context, the other four who’ve kept 100+ clean sheets are: Lee Camp , David Marshall , Paddy Kenny and Keiren Westwood.

Bialkowski is still thought of fondly by Ipswich and Millwall fans and we’re still baffled that he never spent at least one season in the top flight.

With 457 Championship appearances under his belt, only four outfield players have played more games in the second tier than Keogh.

The Republic of Ireland international knew how to wind up his opponents and at his peak, was among the best defenders in the Championship.

He came close to promotion on a few occasions with Derby, but never made it to the top tier.

With over 50 goals scored in the EFL, Flint is one of the highest-scoring defenders we’ve ever seen.

The towering centre-half spent his peak years with Bristol City and was a key component of their 2014–15 League One promotion-winning side, in which he scored 14 league goals.

He came close to being promoted to the Premier League with Cardiff in 2020, but lost in the play-off semi-finals.

Having played 485 games in the Championship, Lees is the Championship’s top appearance maker who has never played in the Premier League .

Only Lee Camp and Albert Adomah have played more Championship games than Lees, but both of them have played at the top level.

Aged 35, Lees is still playing in the EFL today for Peterborough United in League One.

During his peak years with Millwall , Wallace was rightly considered amongst the top players in the division.

In the EFL, he’s racked up an impressive 155 goal contributions across 501 appearances, with the bulk of those games coming in the Championship.

These days at West Brom, he’s no longer at his peak, but back in 2019, he definitely had the ability to play in the Premier League .

With a right foot like a traction engine, it’s a crying shame that Premier League fans never experienced McGugan in the flesh.

The former Nottingham Forest , Watford and Sheffield Wednesday midfielder only scored worldies and was a joy to watch during his prime.

Unfortunately, he retired from professional football at the age of 29, citing injuries and his mental health as factors.

Like McGugan, McKenna only knew how to score worldies.

In terms of technical ability, the former Preston North End , Forest and Hull City holding midfielder was certainly good enough to play in the Premier League during his prime.

He went close to promotion on several occasions with Preston, but never made it to the top flight during his 10 years at Deepdale.

McKenna did eventually win promotion to the Premier League with Hull in 2013, but he retired from professional football at the end of that season.

The former Crystal Palace and Huddersfield winger knew how to get people off their seats.

In total, he racked up 348 appearances in the EFL, but never stepped foot in the Premier League , despite being part of the Huddersfield squad that won promotion in 2017.

There was a point in time when Forestieri was considered amongst the best players in the Championship.

Especially during his early years with Sheffield Wednesday , the diminutive Italian was like lightning in a bottle.

He went agonisingly close to making it to the Premier League in 2016, but lost the play-off final to Hull City .

Given his ability and temperament, he would’ve been box-office viewing in the top flight.

The EFL’s equivalent of Matt Le Tissier ( not because of his political views ).

Trundle was an absolute diamond and it’s a shame that he never got the opportunity to play Premier League football.

The skilful scouser was one of the most entertaining players to watch in the early 2000s and with over 300 career goals, he knew how to find the back of the net.

McCormack is the fourth-highest-scoring player in Championship history with 120 goals, but surprisingly, he never got his chance in the top flight.

The Scotsman scored over 20 goals in a single campaign for Cardiff, Leeds and Fulham between 2008 and 2016, making a name for himself as one of the elite EFL marksman.

His best chance to make it to the Premier League probably came when he joined Aston Villa in 2016, but the less said about that move, the better.

Nowadays, the 39-year-old is playing non-league football for Doncaster City .