Ranked! Photos of every Championship club’s record transfer and how Sunderland, Sheffield United, Watford and West Brom players have fared - gallery
By Joe Buck
Published 1st Dec 2022, 18:30 BST
The January transfer window is just a month away - will any Championship side break their record transfer when it opens?
January is a notoriously difficult time for clubs to conclude transfers as prices soar and teams encounter reluctance from selling teams to negotiate deals.
However, it does provide managers an opportunity to strengthen their squad ahead of a crucial period of the season.
Sunderland were active last winter window and brought in a core of players that would, ultimately, help lead them to promotion from League One - and it’s a window they are still benefiting from now.
But will any Championship club look to spend big this window and could we see some existing club record fees being smashed as clubs go in search of that big difference maker?
Here, using data provided by Transfermarkt, we rank every Championship club’s record purchase by value and see how their various career paths played out following their move.
Sunderland were active last winter window and brought in a core of players that would, ultimately, help lead them to promotion from League One - and it’s a window they are still benefiting from now.
9. Coventry City - Craig Bellamy (€9.25million)
Coventry made the move for 21 year old Bellamy in August 2000. The Welshman netted six times for the Sky Blues before making the switch to Newcastle at the end of the 2000/01 season. After retiring from football in 2014, he now works as an assistant to Vincent Kompany at Burnley. Photo: Michael Steele
Heskey scored 16 times in 78 games for Birmingham City after joining them in the summer of 2004 as the Blues solidified themselves as a Premier League team. In a career spanning two decades, Heskey featured for clubs like Liverpool, Leicester City and Bolton Wanderers, whilst also being capped 62 times by his country. Photo: Ross Kinnaird
Klose joined Norwich in January 2016 and became an integral part of their various promotion winning campaigns before leaving Carrow Road as a free agent last summer. He was picked up by current club Bristol City in January. Photo: Stephen Pond
Despite this transfer happening over two decades ago, Cole’s move to Blackburn remains their club record deal. The striker spent just one and a half years at Ewood Park, scoring 37 times before moving to Fulham. He ended his career in 2008 at Nottingham Forest following stints at Portsmouth, Sunderland and Burnley to name a few. Photo: Gary M. Prior