We've rattled down our annual 'Playmaker 72' countdown of the best performers across the EFL - and we now prepare to cross the Rubicon into our hallowed 'Top 10'.
It's certainly been no easy task, but - just to clarify - our '72' is less a roll call of the best footballers in the EFL and more a tribute to those players who have enjoyed the most memorable seasons while racking up the most impressive stats.
Whatever the criteria, we're confident in our selections of the most outstanding players through the Championship, League One, and League Two and welcome any debate on the subject!
A League Two Player of the Season nominee, we begin our 'Top 10' with an outstanding attacking midfielder from the fourth tier...
Back in the 2021/22 edition of the 'Playmaker 72', Davis Keillor-Dunn joked that he was unimpressed with charting at Number 70 after a bittersweet season at Oldham.
A subsequent move to Burton Albion in League One didn't quite work out for the versatile attacker last season, but he has been sensational since joining Mansfield in January 2023 - and his goals and creativity have played a huge part in the Stags winning promotion from League Two this term.
A worthy candidate to kick off the 'Top 10' of the 2023/24 edition of our countdown, the 26-year-old has hit double figures for both goals (22) and assists (10) in the fourth tier this term to join an exclusive group that also includes MK Dons pair Alex Gilbey and Dan Kemp, Walsall's Isaac Hutchinson and Notts County's silky Dan Crowley.
Although he didn't hit the net with a single header during the course of the campaign, Keillor-Dunn was undoubtedly one of the most two-footed finishers across the entire EFL this season and his stats faithfully reflect the fact: 13 of his strikes with his right foot and nine with his left peg.
📊'Undoubled' in 23/24 (top 4 tiers):
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) May 2, 2024
Premier League: Man City*, Liverpool*
Championship: Leeds*
League One: Derby, Oxford, Portsmouth
League Two: Barrow, Mansfield, Wrexham
* Can be doubled this weekend.#ManCity #LFC #LUFC #DCFC #OUFC #Pompey #WeAreBarrow #Stags #WxmAFC pic.twitter.com/M2fJAjNFHK
As you might expect from a forward playing under former Nottingham Forest and Liverpool playmaker Nigel Clough, Keillor-Dunn has very much been a supplier of goals, as well as a marksman in his own right.
To record 10 assists in addition to his sizeable goal haul was incredibly good going from the multi-faceted frontman...but actually the underlying data suggests he may well have deserved more!
A key pass is defined as "the final pass leading to a shot at goal from a team-mate"...and Keillor-Dunn was the undisputed champion in this stat category in League Two this season. In total, 'DKD' played 103 key passes during the season, making him the only player in the fourth tier to hit three figures in this regard.
Razor sharp with his distribution in attacking areas, Keillor-Dunn also posed a threat in 1v1s, the forward ranking a very creditable 12th for successful dribbles in League Two
Shortlisted for the League Two Player of the Season award along with Wrexham's Elliott Lee and eventual winner Jodi Jones, Keillor-Dunn has enjoyed a stunning season - and unlike his last appearance in the Playmaker 72, this one ended with a promotion!
11: Georginio Rutter 12: Gabriel Sara 13: Marlon Pack
14: Macaulay Langstaff 15: Ephron Mason-Clark 16: Dan Kemp
17: Joe Taylor 18: Eiran Cashin 19: Ali Al-Hamadi 20: Jack Clarke
21: Isaac Olaofe 22: Carl Piergiani 23: Jaden Philogene 24: Alfie May
25: Will Evans 26: Jamie Reid 27: Morgan Whittaker
28: Conor Chaplin 29: George Thomason 30: Mickey Demetriou
31: Stephy Mavididi 32: Marc Leonard 33: Josh Sheehan
34: Matt Smith 35: Kwame Poku 36: Illan Meslier 37: Aden Flint
38: Ronnie Edwards 39: Josh Sargent 40: Alex Gilbey 41: Ben Sheaf
42: Jobe Bellingham 43: Devante Cole 44: Jacob Greaves 45: Paddy Lane
46: Herbie Kane 47: Dan James 48: Archie Collins 49: Karamoko Dembele
50: Haji Wright 51: Dan Crowley 52: Cameron Brannagan 53: Aaron Collins
54: Andy Cook 55: Connor Shaughnessy 56: Jannik Vestergaard
57: Willy Gnonto 58: Ellis Simms 59: Charlie Hughes 60: Fatawu Isshaku
61: Sam Hoskins 62: Paul Mullin 63: Chris Martin 64: Omari Hutchinson
65: Isaac Hutchinson 66: Sam Tickle 67: Ben Hinchcliffe 68: Michał Helik
69: Lewis Wing 70: Rob Apter 71: Kyle Walker-Peters 72: Alex Palmer
