The England stars made in the EFL

Jordan Pickford

England caps: 65 (27 clean sheets)
EFL clubs: Burton, Carlisle, Bradford City, Preston
Appearances: 87

The England No. 1’s first taste of professional football was with non-League Darlington and Alfreton Town in the fifth tier, but he rose up the EFL with loan spells at League Two Burton, League One Carlisle and Bradford City then Championship side Preston.

That experience allowed him to break into Sunderland’s Premier League side, with a move to Everton earning him his place as Gareth Southgate's first-choice England 'keeper.

Dean Henderson

England caps: 1 (0 clean sheets)
EFL clubs: Grimsby, Shrewsbury, Sheffield United
Appearances: 94

Henderson had to earn his stripes away from Manchester United and passed the EFL test with flying colours after featuring in League Two and League One with loan spells at Grimsby and Shrewsbury.

It was ultimately a promotion-winning loan season with Sheffield United in the Championship that established him as one of the most promising goalkeepers in England.

Aaron Ramsdale

England caps: 5 (1 clean sheet)
EFL clubs: Sheffield United, Bolton, Chesterfield, AFC Wimbledon
Appearances: 41

The Arsenal goalkeeper has also featured in all three EFL divisions having played on loan at Chesterfield and AFC Wimbledon in League One and League Two respectively.

That led to him featuring for Bournemouth in the Premier League and then briefly at Sheffield United in the Championship.

Kyle Walker

England caps: 87 (1 goal)
EFL clubs: Sheffield United, Northampton Town, QPR
Appearances: 60 (0 goals)

The Man City right-back made his senior debut during a one-month loan in League One at Northampton in 2008 and soon returned to Sheffield United to make his first appearance for the club in the Championship, starting all three of their play-off matches later that season.

Walker joined Tottenham in July 2009 but gained more experience in the EFL on loan at Sheffield United and then winning the Championship with QPR.

Kieran Trippier

England caps: 52 (1 goal)
EFL clubs: Barnsley and Burnley
Appearances: 174 (7 goals)

The Newcastle right-back's first games in senior football came on loan at Barnsley from Manchester City before he made a name for himself in the Championship with Burnley racking up almost 200 appearances - and stepped up in the Premier League following their promotion.

Joe Gomez

England caps: 15 (0 goals)
EFL clubs: Charlton
Appearances: 21 (0 goals)

Gomez came through Charlton's academy to make his first-team debut in 2014 and played 21 times in the Championship before being signed by Liverpool a year later for a £3.5m fee.

Marc Guehi

England caps: 15 (0 goals)
EFL clubs: Swansea
Appearances: 57 (0 goals)

The centre-back never made an appearance at Chelsea but 57 Championships appearances across two loan spells at Swansea, including a play-off final at Wembley, set him up to join Crystal Palace and become captain.

John Stones

England caps: 76 (3 goals)
EFL clubs: Barnsley
Appearances: 24 (0 goals)

A serial winner with Manchester City, the 30-year-old made his Championship debut for Barnsley aged just 17 before being snapped up by Everton.

Ezri Konsa

England caps: 5 (0 goals)
EFL clubs: Charlton, Brentford
Appearances: 115 (1 goal)

The versatile defender followed a similar path to Joe Gomez, progressing through Chalrton's academy to make 73 appearances in League One before stepping up into the Championship at Brentford.

Lewis Dunk

England caps: 6 (0 goals)
EFL clubs: Brighton, Bristol City
Appearances: 174 (11 goals)

Dunk featured for Brighton in League One and the Championship, playing a key role in their promotion to the Premier League in 2017. He also had a short loan at Bristol City in 2013.

Conor Gallagher

England caps: 17 (0 goals)
EFL clubs: Charlton, Swansea and West Brom
Appearances: 47 (6 goals)

Gallagher earned valuable experience on loan at Charlton and Swansea in the Championship before proving himself in the Premier League at West Brom and Crystal Palace which earned him a chance in Chelsea's first-team.

Adam Wharton

England caps: 1 (0 goals)
EFL clubs: Blackburn
Appearances: 44 (2 goals)

Crystal Palace's latest England star only debuted in senior football in August 2022 for Blackburn and played 44 times in the Championship before joining the Eagles in January.

Anthony Gordon

England caps: 4 (0 goals)
EFL clubs: Preston North End
Appearances: 11 appearances (0 goals)

The flying winger gained important minutes in the Championship with Preston North End during the second half of the 2020/21 season which set him up for his breakthrough campaign at Everton.

Eberechi Eze

England caps: 6 (0 goals)
EFL clubs: Queen's Park Rangers and Wycombe
Appearances: 124 (25 goals)

The Crystal Palace midfielder faced rejection at academy level with Arsenal, Fulham, Reading and Millwall. However, he got a chance in the EFL with QPR, helped by a loan spell at Wycombe Wanderers.

Jude Bellingham

England caps: 33 (5 goals)
EFL clubs: Birmingham
Appearances: 41 (4 goals)

Birmingham knew Bellingham would be one of football's next major stars, retiring his No. 22 shirt after 41 Championship appearances as a 17-year-old following his move to Borussia Dortmund.

The Real Madrid man is now a leading contender for the Ballon d'Or.

Harry Kane

England caps: 95 (65 goals)
EFL clubs: Leyton Orient, Millwall, Leicester
Appearances: 54 (14 goals)

The England captain had to wait for his chance at Tottenham, heading out on loan in League One with Leyton Orient before featuring in the Championship for Millwall and Leicester.

The famous picture of him sat on Leicester's bench next to Jamie Vardy shows it wasn't a simple upward trajectory. But those years in the EFL were the making of England's record goalscorer, now plying his trade for Bayern Munich.

Jarrod Bowen

England caps: 10 (0 goals)
EFL clubs: Hull
Appearances: 117 (52 goals)

The West Ham forward started his career at non-League Hereford United before being fast-tracked through the leagues to Hull where he spent three prominent seasons in the Championship. He was named in the 2018/19 Championship Team of the Season after scoring 22 times.

Ivan Toney

England caps: 4 (1 goal)
EFL clubs: Northampton, Barnsley, Shrewsbury, Wigan, Scunthorpe, Peterborough, Brentford
Appearances: 273 (112 goals)

Toney started off at hometown club Northampton and his displays as a youngster in League Two earned him a move to Newcastle.

His time at St James’ Park failed but League One loan spells at Barnsley, Shrewsbury, Wigan and two at Scunthorpe earned him a move to third-tier side Peterborough.

From there, he became League One Player of the Year, then the Championship top scorer at Brentford – before Premier League promotion would be followed by a call-up to the England team.