Championship Team of the Month for December

We take look back at the top performers from the Championship in December, with seven clubs represented in WhoScored.com’s Team of the Month.

Goalkeeper: Asmir Begovic (Bournemouth) – 7.28 rating

Not for the first time, Begovic makes the Championship team of the month in the 2020/21 season. Only Brice Samba (26) made more saves than the Bosnian (25) in December, while he also has five clean sheets from seven outings.

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Right-back: Nathan Byrne (Derby) – 7.45 rating

The first of four Derby representatives is right-back Byrne. Of the 19 points the Rams have accumulated this season, 12 were earned in December as Derby conceded fewer goals (2) than any other team.

Centre-back: Matthew Clarke (Derby) – 7.41 rating

Joining Byrne at the back is centre-back Clarke, who has been a key man in Derby’s resurgence under Rooney. Clarke reinforced a WhoScored.com style of play of ‘clears the ball out of defence often’ with his 38 clearances one of the better returns in the Championship last month.

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Centre-back: Michal Helik (Barnsley) – 7.46 rating

Helik earned his two WhoScored.com man-of-the-match awards of the season in December, those coming in wins over Preston and Huddersfield, scoring twice in the victory over the latter. 30 tackles and interceptions combined was a solid return for Helik.

Left-back: Morgan Fox (Stoke) – 7.25 rating

Two of the three assists Fox has registered this season came in December, with the pair of assists coming from seven key passes. The Welshman also exhibited a strength of ‘tackling’, making 14 in December.

Right midfield: Emiliano Buendia (Norwich) – 7.72 rating

With a WhoScored.com rating of 7.72, Buendia is the WhoScored.com Championship player of the month. The Argentine made more key passes (24) than any other player in England’s second tier and earned the man-of-the-match award in four of his eight league outings. Only Ivan Toney (7) had a direct hand in more goals than Buendia (6) who excelled once more to land the award.

Central midfield: Krystian Bielik (Derby) – 7.56 rating

Bielik excelled in midfield, earning the man of the match in meetings with Brentford and Birmingham, scoring his first league goal of 2020/21 in the win over the latter.

Central midfield: Glen Rea (Luton) – 7.33 rating

Rea impressed when out of possession for the Hatters, making 38 tackles and interceptions combined in December; only Vitaly Janelt (43) made more last month.

Left midfield: Sergi Canos (Brentford) – 7.37 rating

Canos has struggled for regular game time for Brentford this season, but became the first player to earn a perfect WhoScored.com 10 rating in a league match in 2020/21, achieving the feat in the Bees’ 3-2 win at Cardiff on Boxing Day. Like Buendia, Canos had a direct hand in six goals in all in December.

Striker: Ivan Toney (Brentford) – 7.33 rating

Toney had a direct hand in more goals (7 – 4 goals, 3 assists) than any other Championship player in December. In all, Toney scored or provided an assist in six of his eight league outings last month.

Striker: Colin Kazim-Richards (Derby) – 7.24 rating

Experienced striker Kazim-Richards rounds off the Derby quartet and the team of the month. The 34-year-old joined the Rams back in October and has established himself as a vital component in Rooney’s side. The Rams netted just eight league goals last month, with Kazim-Richards netting three of those.

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