Top 10 Transfers Unveiled
The Championship serves as a fantastic platform for rising stars to display their skills before making significant moves, often to the Premier League. This second tier of English football is a remarkable league in its own right, known for its unpredictability and currently positioned as the sixth most valuable league globally. With a roster of players more valuable than those in Liga Portugal and the Dutch Eredivisie, Championship clubs are beginning to invest heavily. This summer, the league is on track to set a record for the highest transfer fee of all time.
Hayden Hackney, a midfielder for Middlesbrough and the England U21 team, appears poised to leave the northeast for relegated Ipswich in a historic Championship deal. Reports indicate that an agreement in the ballpark of €23.2 million has been reached between the clubs, which would make the 23-year-old the most expensive transfer in the league’s history. But what other moves are included in the top 10 list?
The Most Expensive Transfers in Championship History
Once finalized, Hackney’s €23.2 million transfer will claim the top spot, surpassing the previous record held by Burnley, who signed winger Mike Trésor for €18 million in the 2023/24 season. The third position is occupied by Wolves’ acquisition of midfielder Rúben Neves from Porto for €17.9 million. Fourth place goes to Middlesbrough’s transfer of striker Britt Assombalonga from Nottingham Forest for €17.1 million, while João Carvalho’s €15 million move from Benfica to Forest takes fifth. Helder Costa’s transfer from Benfica to Wolves, also valued at €15 million, ranks sixth.
Seventh place is held by Ross McCormack’s transfer from Fulham to Aston Villa for €14.3 million during the 2016/17 season. In eighth, Leeds secured striker Joël Piroe from Swansea for €14 million in the 2023/24 season. Ninth is Harry Wilson’s move from Liverpool to Fulham for €14 million in the 2021/22 season, while Benik Afobe’s transfer from Wolves to Stoke for €13.5 million in the 2018/19 season rounds out the top 10.
