With almost half of the Championship campaign complete already, it is Newcastle United and Brighton who are leading the way.

Both clubs are battling it out for top spot as Newcastle look for an immediate return to the Premier League, whilst Chris Hughton’s Seagulls look to improve even further after a run of impressive campaigns.

The Championship is always described as one of, if not the, most competitive football leagues and this is definitely proving to be the case this season with Reading, Huddersfield Town, Leeds United, Sheffield Wednesday, Birmingham City, Norwich City, Fulham and Derby County all within touching distance of the top two, which certainly sets up for an exciting second half to the season.

Last year, there were at least three noticeable big money transfers in January with players moving from the Championship to the Premier League.

This included Benik Afobe’s £10m move from Wolves to AFC Bournemouth, Charlie Austin’s £4m move from QPR to Southampton and Sam Byram switching from Leeds to West Ham United.

With the January transfer window just around the corner, here are five Championship players that Shoot! think may attract some Premier League interest in the New Year… 

Anthony Knockaert

Ex-Leicester player Knockeart – Photo: Marc Atkins / Offside.

Knockaert has been one of the standout players for Brighton so far this season and he finally seems to have found his feet since transferring from Standard Liege in January.

The winger has six goals to his name this season, but his pace and creative spark has inspired Chris Hughton’s side to the summit of the table.

Premier League teams must have started to pay attention to the Frenchman and if Brighton are to push for promotion this season, they will need to hold on to the ex-Leicester City forward as he will undoubtedly continue to play a big role in their performances this term.

Knockaert has said that he will commit his future to the club, but the notion of regular first-team Premier League football would probably be enough to lure even the most committed player away.

Scott Hogan

Just three years ago, Hogan was playing non-league football for Hyde United.

Now, in tremendous form for Brentford, the striker has scored 13 goals in 21 games and could be of interest to many Premier League clubs once the transfer window opens.

Hogan is reportedly already set to be the subject of a £10m bid from Norwich City, which could help him achieve his ambition of playing for England.

The 24 year-old is currently eligible to play for either England or the Republic of Ireland and a move to the Premier League would certainly increase his chances of a call-up to his preferred national side.

His prolific form will have interested clubs, but only time will tell whether he is cut out for the Premier League just yet. 

Paul Dummett

Photo: Marc Atkins / Offside.

Dummett has been a key player in Rafa Benitez’s Newcastle side so far this season and he has featured in all but one of their Championship fixtures.

There are strong rumours that Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew is preparing a raid on his former club and the left-back is said to be high on his list of priorities.

The 25-year-old has been essential to The Magpies brilliant form this season and it would be a big loss if he were to move to Selhurst Park in January.

Surely only a particularly large bid would tempt Newcastle to part with their academy product, but as Dummett gained his first appearance for Newcastle under Pardew, it would not be surprising if the pair were to reunite in the near future.  

Conor Hourihane

Photo: Charlotte Wilson / Offside.

Hourihane has continued his great run of form this season and has four goals and nine assists in 19 league appearances.

The 25-year-old transferred to Barnsley from Plymouth Argyle in the summer of 2014 and was an influential player for them last year as they gained promotion from League One.

The Barnsley skipper soon became an Oakwell hero after joining The Tykes and has been one of the standout players in the entire division this season.

However, he is out of contract at the end of the season and if a Premier League club were to come calling in the New Year, it may make sense to sell him in the January window for a fee rather than to lose him for nothing come the end of the campaign.

Should this move go through, many people would be interested to see how Hourihane would fair in the top-flight.  

Jacob Murphy

Photo: Mark Leech / Offside.

Norwich winger Murphy has finally cemented himself in the Norwich team after a great run of form this season.

The 21-year-old was loaned out to six different lower league clubs between 2013 and 2016, but has now found the back of the net five times this season in the Championship, as well as providing four assists.

Despite signing a new four-and-a-half year deal at Carrow Road in November, Tottenham, Everton and Southampton are all said to be interested in the winger and they could submit a bid for the youngster when the window opens.

The Canaries have been slowly sliding down the Championship table recently and any interest from a Premier League club in January might just be enough to tempt Murphy away.