Hayden Hackney

Hackney takes the ball in positions where a midfielder is supposed to feel uncomfortable, with an opponent arriving behind him, and simply goes past the pressure instead of recycling it sideways. Very few midfielders carried the ball forward as often or as successfully in the Championship, and the passes that follow are disguised until the moment they leave his foot. Everything he does looks measured rather than hurried.

Defensively he is the opposite, contributing less through anticipation and ball winning than a Premier League midfield normally demands from a central player. That means he needs a disciplined partner beside him, which shapes an entire midfield around one footballer's limitations. Watch who gets picked next to him, because that decision matters more than anything he does himself.