Opinion: The five Championship clubs that had the best summer transfer window
The summer transfer window went well for a couple of Championship teams, and their fans will be hoping that translates to automatic promotion, or at least, a place in the play-offs zone.
With 639 players changing clubs and almost £200million spent across the 24 sides in the division, the EFL Championship still remains the world’s famous second-tier football league.
The EFL Championship is tough and grueling, however, with 24 clubs all looking for promotion to the Premier League. If you’re up to the task, you can take advantage of best online casino reviews to bet on the EFL Championship.
That said, here is a look at the five clubs that had the best business done this summer.
Burnley
Total Spent: £21.7million
Number of signings: 16
The Turf Moor side signed English centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis (Manchester City under-21), Dutch left-back Ian Maatsen (Chelsea u-21s), English forward Nathan Tella (Southampton), Turkish forward Halil Dervisoglu (Brentford) and German defender Jordan Beyer (Borussia Monchengladbach) on loan, with English defender CJ Egan Riley arriving on a free from Manchester City.
The Clarets spent money on the acquisitions of Belgian attacker Anass Zaroury, Belgian midfielder Benson Manuel Hedilazio, Macedonian midfielder Darko Churlinov, Irish midfielder Josh Cullen, Kosovan goalkeeper Arijanet Muric, English attacker Scott Twine, Irish defender Luke McNally, Brazilian attacker Vitinho, Italian goalie Denis Franchi and Belgian midfielder Samuel Bastien, and a couple of them have hit the ground running, helping Burnley to a place in the top-five in the current standings after eight games.
The likes of Tella, Maatsen, Vitinho, Harwood-Bellis and Muric have been crucial to Vincent Kompany’s side’s impressive start to 2022-23, and could play a huge role in their bid for immediate promotion.
Cardiff City
Total Spent: £590,000
Number of signings: 17
The Welsh outfit have struggled to get out of the blocks as fast as they would have anticipated this season, and they will be hoping the huge squad changes they made in the summer come through for them going forward.
Steve Morison’s side signed English defender Jack Simpson, English midfielder Andy Rinomhota, English goalkeeper Ryan Allsop, Antiguan defender Mahlon Romeo, English defender Vontae Daley-Campbell, English midfielder Sheyi Ojo, Nigerian defender Jamilu Collins, Kittitian midfielder Romaine Sawyers, English goalie Jak Alnwick, Irish winger Callum O’Dowda and Gambian defender Ebou Adams all on free deals.
French defender Cedric Kipre (West Bromwich Albion) , English midfielder Jaden Philogene-Bidace (Aston Villa) and French left-back Niels Nkounkou (Everton) joined on loan deals.
Cardiff spent on English attacking trio Callum Robinson, Ollie Tanner and Kion Etete.
Hull City
Total Spent: £10.4million
Number of signings: 16
The Tigers dream of playing top-flight football again, and have spent money on English defensive midfielder Ryan Woods, Iranian attacker Allahyar Sayyadmanesh, Turkish midfield duo Ozan Tufan and Dogukan Sinik.
Shota Arveladze’s side have recruited Greek attacking midfielder Dimitrios Pelkas (Fenerbahce), Spanish midfielder Xavier Simons (Chelsea u-21) and English midfielder Harvey Vale (Chelsea u-21) on loan, while Irish defender Cyrus Christie, Ghanian attacker Benjamin Tetteh, American winger Vaughn Covil, Ivorian midfielder Jean Michael Seri, Portuguese defender Tobias Figueiredo, English goalkeeper Thimothee Lo-Tutala, Malian central midfielder Adama Traore and Colombian forward Oscar Estupinan have all joined for free.
The Colombian has already bagged seven goals, and 12th-placed Hull can challenge for a top-six spot if they keep improving.
Reading
Total Spent: £0
Number of signings: 11
Paul Ince’s side have started the campaign flying after escaping the drop by four points last term, with some smart recruitment already paying off.
The Royals signed English goalie Joe Lumley (Middlesbrough), English midfielder Tyrese Fornah (Nottingham Forest u-21) Irish midfielder Jeff Hendrick (Newcastle United), Ghanian left-back Abdul-Rahman Baba (Chelsea) and Senegalese midfielder Mamadou Loum (Porto) on loan, and English winger Tom Ince, French centre-back Naby Sarr, English defender Nesta Guinness-Walker, English defender Sam Hutchinson, Irish striker Shane Long and Australian goalie Dean Bouzanis have all joined the Select Car Leasing Stadium outfit for free.
Watford
Total Spent: £5.2million
Number of signings: Eight
The Hornets lost a couple of their players following relegation, but have made some decent signings as they eye an immediate return to the top-flight.
Watford signed English centre-back Kortney Hause (Aston Villa), English midfielder Hamza Choudhury (Leicester City) English forward Keinan Davis (Aston Villa) and Ivorian midfielder Hassane Kamara (Udinese) on loan, while Spanish defender Mario Gaspar and English goalkeeper Ben Hamer joined for free.
Rob Edwards’ side spent cash to bring Ivorian forward Vakoun Issouf Bayo and Albanian forward Rey Manaj to Vicarage Road, and the duo have two goals between them, with the Hornets currently sixth in the Championship table.