With the Championship play-offs already underway, it is time for Shoot! to look back upon a dramatic 2016-17 season.

Brighton and Hove Albion and Newcastle United are the two sides that have secured automatic promotion to the top-flight this term, with Huddersfield Town, Reading, Fulham and Sheffield Wednesday the four teams who will face up against each other in the play-offs.

At the other end of the table, it is Rotherham United, Wigan Athletic and Blackburn Rovers who will be the teams playing in League One in 2017-18.

This year has seen some excellent team performances… but just who have been the standout individuals of this campaign?

Here are Shoot!’s Top 5 Championship Players of the 2016-17 season…

Aaron Mooy (Huddersfield Town)

Aaron Mooy has been in scintillating form for David Wagner’s Huddersfield Town this season and has proved to be one of the Championship’s most versatile players by helping The Terriers to secure their play-off position.

The central midfielder has played mostly in a deep-lying midfield spot during this campaign and has scored on four occasions, as well as assisting seven times in his 44 Championship games.

The 26-year-old is currently at the club on a one-year loan deal from Premier League side Manchester City, whom he signed for in the summer of 2016, after switching from Melbourne City – another club in the City Football Group.

After his impressive season, he is expected to join up with Pep Guardiola’s City on their pre-season tour to the USA for assessment by the Spaniard and could even be considered for a starting place at the Etihad Stadium come August.

Whether he stays in Manchester, or secures a permanent move to Huddersfield – should they be promoted – it is more than likely that Mooy will be playing Premier League football at the start of next season.

Ryan Sessegnon (Fulham)

At just 16 years of age, Ryan Sessegnon became the youngest-ever player to be included in the PFA Championship Team of the Year when it was announced earlier last month.

The Fulham left-back scored five goals in 25 Championship appearances this season and, when he netted his first professional goal for the club against Cardiff City in August, he became the first professional footballer in England born in the 2000’s to score a league goal.

He is expected to sign his first professional contract at Craven Cottage when he turns 17 and he has been earning rave reviews throughout the campaign.

The defender has already been tipped to play at the highest level in the not so distant future and all of Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United are said to be interested in the youngster.

Dwight Gayle (Newcastle United)

Newcastle United’s Dwight Gayle has been one of, if not the, main reason for the club’s success in the division during this campaign and the forward has been somewhat revitalised under boss Rafa Benitez.

His 22 goals in 30 league appearances have meant that he averages a goal every 96 minutes for The Magpies, which makes him the Championship’s most prolific striker this season.

The forward is another player to have a fairly meteoric rise in recent years having made the jump from League Two to this league with Peterborough United back in 2012-13, before moving onto the top-flight just six months later with newly promoted Crystal Palace.

The 26-year-old has certainly fared better in the Championship so far than what he has done in the Premier League having scored 35 goals in 60 appearances compared to just 15 in 64 when playing in the top-flight.

Now that Newcastle have secured their return to the Premier League at the first time of asking, Gayle will be presented with another chance to prove his worth at the highest level of the game.

Chris Wood (Leeds United)

Chris Wood is currently the leading goalscorer in the Championship this season and has netted 26 times in 44 league appearances.

This means that the New Zealand international is averaging 136 minutes per goal in the league and has also assisted on four separate occasions.

The striker has also scored three times in the cup and certainly looks to have found his feet at Elland Road after making his way around the English leagues with clubs including Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol City, Ipswich, Leicester, Millwall and West Brom.

Whilst the forward has always been in and amongst the goals, it is really only under Garry Monk that he has started to perform consistently.

Wood already has 42 goals in 84 appearances for The Whites and became only the second player – alongside Jermaine Beckford – in the last ten years to score more than 30 goals in a season for Leeds.

Anthony Knockaert (Brighton and Hove Albion)

Brighton and Hove Albion playmaker Anthony Knockaert has played a huge part in The Seagulls’ success this season with Chris Hughton’s side securing promotion to the Premier League.

The winger has scored 15 goals from midfield and has created a further eight goals for The Seagulls.

The Frenchman joined the seaside club from Standard Liege in January 2016 and has previously played in the top-flight with Leicester City.

This wouldn’t have been his most enjoyable footballing experience in recent years though after only getting 330 Premier League minutes under his belt before being deemed surplus at the King Power Stadium.

However, during the course of this season, Knockaert has repaid the faith shown in him and has been able to turn his fortunes around by securing the 2017 Championship Player of the Season Award.

The 25-year-old has unquestionably played a vital role throughout the whole of this campaign.