Mitrovic, Gayle and others too good for Championship but not good enough for Premier League
The tale of the brilliant Championship striker who wasn't good enough for the Premier League is a familiar one, and there are plenty of recent examples.
It's hard to ignore the superb goalscoring exploits of Aleksandar Mitrovic for Fulham this season. At the time of writing, he is scoring at a rate greater than a goal a game for the table-topping Cottagers.
Aleksandar Mitrovic
Billy Sharp
He initially failed at Sheffield United and had to prove himself in the second tier of English football at Doncaster. Forty goals in 82 matches, followed by nine in just 15 games for Southampton showed just how good Sharp was, though.
However, after Southampton were promoted they did not give him a chance to step up with them, instead loaning him back to the Championship.
David Nugent
He played in the Premier League as recently as 2016 for Middlesbrough, but 14 goals in best part of 100 games at that level told its own story.
Guy Whittingham
Whittingham hit extraordinary goalscoring form for Portsmouth in 1992/93, hitting 42 league goals in just 46 games.
First it was Aston Villa who took a chance on him, although they had a very settled side at that time full of attacking talent, and Whittingham didn't get a lot of opportunities. In his single season at Villa Park, he scored just five goals.
Dwight Gayle
Dwight Gayle is 32 years old now and he has spent more seasons in the Premier League than he has in the Championship.
Considering he only has 26 Premier League goals to his name for Crystal Palace and Newcastle across seven seasons, the fact he remains at that level is a bit of a surprise.
Michael Chopra
That earned him a move back to the north East to Sunderland, but just eight goals in 39 games didn't make good reading in the record books.
Rob Earnshaw
His first season at the top level was respectable too, with the Zambian-born Welshman scoring 11 Premier League goals. However, from the start of the 2005/06 season, he scored just two goals at that level in 34 games for West Brom and Derby.
Teemu Pukki
His 84 Championship games have produced 55 goals, while he currently has 17 Premier League goals in 60 games.