Sky Sports pundit Kris Boyd believes Birmingham City strikers Jay Stansfield and Kyogo Furuhashi are leading contenders for Championship top goalscorer this season.
Birmingham, who are part-owned by legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady, open the 2025/26 campaign with a home game against Ipswich Town on Friday night (8pm kick-off).
The Blues bulldozed their way to the League One title last time out, winning 34 of 46 league games and racking up 111 points with a whopping goal difference of 53.
Tougher test awaits
Manager Chris Davies’ team face a much tougher test in England’s second tier, but Boyd believes they have the necessary firepower at their disposal if they can create the chances.
Boyd told BestBettingSites.com: “I think there are a few candidates to top score next season, and Kyogo is definitely one of them.
“His partner at Birmingham, Jay Stansfield, is another one with a chance.
“There are always some obvious tips to be the top scorer in this league at the start of the season, but there’s always a challenger who comes from left field too.”
Smash them in
“If Birmingham can create chances for either of their players,” Boyd continued, “they will smash them in, but there are obviously other strikers in the league who you can say the same thing about.
“I think with a strong squad and good attacking players, Southampton will be feeling the same, as will Leicester if they get players in.
“Sheffield United have still got players who can score freely, so it’s a difficult pick, but you know from Kyogo’s time in Scotland that he converts chances if he’s given them.”
READ MORE: Championship news: Title favourites Ipswich Town open campaign in Birmingham
Who are the contenders to be top Championship goalscorer in 2025/26?
Each Way: 1/4 Odds, four places (odds: SkyBet)
Cameron Archer 13/2
George Hirst 17/2
Jay Stansfield 17/2
Adam Armstrong 9/1
Ross Stewart 12/1
Sammie Szmodics 12/1
Haji Wright 14/1
Kyogo Furuhashi 14/1
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Birmingham close call
Former Rangers striker Boyd nearly moved to the Midlands at one point in his career but opted to stay at Ibrox in the end, where he is a fans’ favourite to this day.
In that exclusive interview with BestBettingSites, Boyd explained: “I was linked with Birmingham City when I was 16 months into my spell at Rangers, and they accepted a bid for me.
“I didn’t want to go, actually, because I hadn’t won anything at Rangers. I felt as a Rangers fan that I’d scored loads of goals and started with them, but I couldn’t leave until I won something.
“That was always at the back of my mind.”
On the verge
“When Walter Smith came back, I felt we were just on the verge of winning again,” Boyd added, “and it would have broken my heart to have moved on and then see the boys lifting trophies.
“I wanted to be part of that.
“The only other move that broke down for me was when I was at Nottingham Forest, on loan from Middlesbrough. If we’d gone up to the Premier League, I would have joined them, but we lost the play-off to Swansea and so it never materialised.
“I had to go back to Boro and I’d kind of fallen out of love with football there, and then when Billy Davies gave me that opportunity at Forest, it was fantastic.
“It’s a great club. Just walking into that stadium, it feels like a proper football club. I loved my time there.”
SportJustSport writers