Some footballers do not know when it's time to call it a day and these six former Premier League stars are swerving retirement for life in the Championship...

Joe Allen - Swansea CityThe so-called Welsh Pirlo surprised us when he snubbed interest from Premier League clubs to commit to Stoke City following their relegation to the Championship in 2018.

Allen may have done so hoping Stoke - with their table-topping budget - would make a speedy return to the Premier League, but the Potters have been one of the Football League's biggest failures over the past six seasons. Since their relegation, they have not finished in the top half of the Championship, never mind challenged for promotion.

Allen, 34, stuck around for four of these seasons before returning to his boyhood club Swansea in 2022. Sadly, he has been dogged by injury in recent years and is currently down the pecking order. Without a start in the Championship this season and out of contract next summer, he could be set to ride off into the sunset at the end of a stellar career.

Andre Gray - Plymouth ArgyleWe may have been wrong about Rooney as the Manchester United legend has overcome early-season sack talk to earn a nomination for the September Championship Manager of the Month award.

Rooney's youthful attack of Morgan Whittaker, Ibrahim Cissoko, Rami Al Hajj and Michael Obafemi has flourished at the start of this season, but the Pilgrims secured a shock post-summer free transfer to add a sprinkle of experience with the signing of 33-year-old Gray.

Now, had this signing been completed several years ago, this deal would have been viewed as a coup. This could still prove the case, but after spells at Aris FC in Greece and Al Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, it's unclear how much the former Luton Town, Burnley and Watford striker has left in the tank.

Plymouth have sensibly given Gray a unique contract which only runs until January. This risk-free signing could end up being a masterstroke or a complete waste of time and we'll simply have to see which way it goes. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say it'll be the latter, but fun all the same.

Victor Moses - Luton TownAnother post-summer window deal to raise eyebrows saw former Premier League winner Moses sign for Championship strugglers Luton Town.

Suffering a hangover from last season's relegation, Luton desperately need to get their return campaign in the Championship off the ground and the surprise addition of Moses - at the very least - gave the club an initial boost of optimism.

His unexpected transformation into a superb wing-back under Antonio Conte set the 33-year-old on a trajectory for a bizarre career as he had loan spells at Fenerbahce and Inter Milan before he found a permanent home at Spartak Moscow.

Moses has filled a huge hole in Luton's squad as there was a glaring lack of quality in the right wing-back position following the sale of Chiedozie Ogbene to Ipswich Town. While the Hatters' struggles continued before the international break, their newbie has hit the ground running and scored off the bench in his second of four appearances.

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Kyle Naughton - Swansea CityNaughton was the subject of our infamous discontinued 'ordinary player' series after he was left in the shadows by fellow former Sheffield United starlet Kyle Walker.

The defensive pair joined Tottenham Hotspur from the Blades for a combined fee of PS9m. Walker's career is very much on the downturn after he was exposed at Euro 2024, but his career has far exceeded Naughton's, who is in his 11th season at Swansea City after failing to cut it as a Big Six player.

But like Walker, 35-year-old Naughton is displaying immense staying power as he remains a regular for Swansea City and could foreseeably extend his contract beyond this season.

Angelo Ogbonna - WatfordWhile Fernando Forestieri has been back training with Watford to build fitness, the Hornets pulled off two of this summer's most surprising signings.

First, they pulled off a bit of a coup to sign 36-year-old Ogbonna - who is a year older than novice manager Tom Cleverley - following his exit from West Ham United.

Ogbonna's lack of match fitness saw him miss the start of this campaign, but he started Watford's last three matches before this international break. So, injury permitting, he'll have a big role to play this season at the heart of Cleverley's three-man defence, which suits him perfectly at this stage of his career.

Moussa Sissoko - WatfordIn an otherwise youthful squad, Sissoko and Ogbonna add some much-needed experience (and quality) to Cleverley's side, who have emerged as a surprise contender for the play-offs.

Sissoko's first spell was nothing to write home about as his single season at the club resulted in relegation from the Premier League. But the former Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder is out to right that wrong after he was one of the eight best Championship summer signings.

After a spell with Ligue Un outfit Nantes, the 35-year-old has captained Watford in all nine of their Championship games this term and is living up to the hype surrounding his return to Vicarage Road.