The 15 most controversial EFL Championship transfers of all time (Ranked)..
With the Championship season now concluded, clubs from across the division will be preparing for the summer transfer window.
The transfer window will be structured slightly differently this summer, with clubs able to do business between the 1st and 10th June before the Club World Cup, and then again from the 16th June all the way through to the 1st September.
With the potential prize of Premier League football on offer, many second tier sides are likely to invest heavily in their squads this summer, and newly-promoted duo Wrexham and Birmingham City are expected to be among the biggest spenders outside the top flight in addition to the three relegated clubs, so an intriguing few months could be ahead.
There have been plenty of eye-catching transfer deals in the Championship over the years, and we looked back and ranked the top 15 most controversial transfers that have taken place in the division.
The top 15 most controversial Championship transfers of all time
Rank
Player
Clubs involved
15
Max Lowe
Sheffield United to Sheffield Wednesday
14
Scott Hogan
Aston Villa to Birmingham City
13
Cyrus Christie
Derby County to Middlesbrough
12
Mike Tresor
Genk to Burnley
11
Steve Morison
Norwich City to Leeds United
10
Gary Madine
Cardiff City to Sheffield United
9
Sam Winnall
Barnsley to Sheffield Wednesday
8
Alex Pritchard
Sunderland to Birmingham City
7
Brandon Williams
Manchester United to Ipswich Town
6
Kris Commons
Nottingham Forest to Derby County
5
Matty Taylor
Bristol Rovers to Bristol City
4
Wayne Rooney
DC United to Derby County
3
Ross McCormack
Leeds United to Fulham
2
Ruben Neves
Porto to Wolves
1
Jean-Kevin Augustin
RB Leipzig to Leeds United.
15
Max Lowe – Sheffield United to Sheffield Wednesday
Max Lowe
While there are a handful of players who have represented both Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday, it is incredibly rare for anyone to make the move directly across the Steel City, but that is exactly what defender Max Lowe did in the summer.
Lowe spent four years at Bramall Lane, and he was part of the squad that won promotion to the Premier League in the 2022-23 season, but after being released by the Blades at the end of his contract, he opted to join their bitter rivals.
Given that United had chosen to allow Lowe to depart, his switch to Hillsborough was not greeted with the animosity it perhaps could have been in other circumstances, but the 28-year-old was still not given a particularly warm welcome when he returned to his former club with the Owls in November.
14
Scott Hogan – Aston Villa to Birmingham City
Scott Hogan scores for Birmingham City vs Bristol City
Just as with United and Wednesday, there are very few players who have made the transition from Aston Villa to Birmingham over the years, but striker Scott Hogan is one of those.
Hogan joined Villa from Brentford for a fee of £12 million in January 2017, but he scored just 10 goals in 61 games for the club, and after spells out on loan with Sheffield United and Stoke City, he made a temporary move to St Andrew’s in January 2020.
The deal was made permanent that summer, and Hogan went on to score 36 goals in 158 appearances for the Blues, but it was not all plain sailing for the former Republic of Ireland international, who recently admitted that he “fell out of love with football” during his time at the club.
13
Cyrus Christie – Derby County to Middlesbrough
Cyrus Christie for Hull City
On the face of it, there looked to be little wrong with defender Cyrus Christie’s £2.5 million move from Derby County to Middlesbrough in the summer of 2017, but the deal would soon be at the centre of controversy.
It was revealed by the Daily Mail in 2019 that Boro were accusing former manager Garry Monk and his agent James Featherstone of “deceiving them in the transfer market to the tune of millions of pounds”, and the signing of Christie was one of the deals the Teesside outfit decided to investigate.
Boro were said to be unhappy to discover that Featherstone had been acting for Derby when they completed a deal for Christie, and it also emerged that they had only wanted to pay around £1.75 million for the right-back, but Monk’s agent had encouraged the Rams to hold out for a higher price.
Christie spent just six months at the Riverside Stadium, making 26 appearances for the club before joining Fulham in January 2018, and it is fair to say that the allegations against Monk and Featherstone cast a cloud of suspicion over the signing.
12
Mike Tresor – Genk to Burnley
Untitled design (20)
Despite failing to deliver during his loan spell at Turf Moor in the Premier League, Burnley were obligated to sign winger Mike Tresor from Genk on a permanent basis in the summer for a fee of £15.4 million.
However, it soon emerged that Ajax were interested in Tresor, and after failing to secure a move to the Dutch giants, the 25-year-old made his frustration clear on social media, further burning his bridges with Clarets supporters who were already unimpressed by his performances the previous season.
After the summer transfer saga, Tresor made just one FA Cup appearance for Burnley during their promotion-winning campaign, and to add even more mystery to his continued absence, neither head coach Scott Parker nor owner Alan Pace were able to explain why the Belgian international was not involved, making it one of the most baffling situations ever seen in the Championship.
11
Steve Morison – Norwich City to Leeds United
4-2
While the two clubs are not geographically linked, there is certainly no love lost between Leeds United and Millwall, so the arrival of ex-Lions star Steve Morison at Elland Road from Norwich City in January 2013 caught many by surprise.
Morison joined the Whites as part of a swap deal that saw Luciano Becchio move in the opposite direction to Carrow Road, and manager Neil Warnock predicted that supporters would soon forget any reservations they had about the signing of the striker, but that did not prove to be the case.
The 41-year-old scored just five goals in 42 appearances for Leeds either side of a loan spell with Millwall, and after an underwhelming stint in West Yorkshire, he returned to The Den on a permanent basis in August 2015.
10
Gary Madine – Cardiff City to Sheffield United
gary madine cardiff city
Striker Gary Madine is perhaps best known for his time at Sheffield Wednesday, for whom he scored 28 goals in 113 appearances during a four-and-a-half year spell at Hillsborough between 2011 and 2015, so it was a huge surprise to see him join the Owls’ rivals Sheffield United on loan from Cardiff City in January 2019.
Blades manager Chris Wilder had previously accused Madine of a “lack of respect” in 2017 after a video surfaced on social media of him criticising Billy Sharp, which made his arrival at Bramall Lane all the more unexpected, and after completing his move to United, the 34-year-old insisted the perception that he did not like the club was “not true”.
Madine proved to be a useful addition for Wilder’s men, scoring three goals in 16 appearances to help them win automatic promotion to the Premier League, and that certainly did not go down well on the other side of the Steel City.
9
Sam Winnall – Barnsley to Sheffield Wednesday
Untitled design (81)
While Sheffield Wednesday’s main rivalry may be with Sheffield United, there is also no love lost with Barnsley, so it was a controversial move from the Owls to poach the Tykes’ star striker Sam Winnall in January 2017 for a fee of just £500,000.
Winnall had scored 11 goals in 23 appearances during a productive first half of the season, and as Wednesday reportedly offered him a salary of £18,000-per-week, which was four times greater than his existing wages, many Reds supporters accused the 34-year-old of choosing money over loyalty.
To add insult to injury for Barnsley, Winnall scored on his return to Oakwell less than three months after his exit, with his goal coming after one angry home supporter delayed the start of the game by throwing a Peppa Pig plush toy at him, but that would prove to be one of few highlights of what was a disappointing spell at Hillsborough.
8
Alex Pritchard – Sunderland to Birmingham City
Alex Pritchard
Midfielder Alex Pritchard’s career was at something of a crossroads when he joined Sunderland in the summer of 2021, but his move to the Stadium of Light proved to be a good one for all parties.
Pritchard won promotion from League One and reached the Championship play-offs during his time with the Black Cats, scoring nine goals and providing 24 assists in 115 games for the club, but his relationship with supporters soured after speculation emerged linking him with a reunion with former manager Tony Mowbray at Birmingham in January 2024.
In an attempt to force a move, Pritchard informed Sunderland that he was no longer available for selection and withdrew from the matchday squad just one day before a game against Stoke City, which certainly did not go down well with the club’s passionate fan base, and while he did eventually get his wish to join the Blues, he made just nine appearances as his new side were relegated to League One.
7
Brandon Williams – Manchester United to Ipswich Town
Brandon Williams
Defender Brandon Williams has been no stranger to controversy during his career, and his loan move from Manchester United to Ipswich Town in the summer of 2023 certainly set tongues wagging.
Williams had previously spent the 2021-22 season on loan at Norwich as they were relegated from the Premier League, so his decision to cross the East Anglian divide and join the Tractor Boys was certainly a bold one, even if it did offer him the opportunity to team up with his former Red Devils coach Kieran McKenna again.
The 24-year-old infuriated Canaries supporters even further with a social media post that mocked them for being below Ipswich in the table, and while he did not feature during the final few months of his loan spell, he was still part of the squad that helped the Suffolk outfit return to the top flight for the first time in 22 years.
6
Kris Commons – Nottingham Forest to Derby County
Kris Commons Derby County vs Millwall
Midfielder Kris Commons spent four years at Nottingham Forest between 2004 and 2008, during which time he helped them win promotion from League One, but he departed the club in acrimonious fashion when he joined rivals Derby County.
Commons enjoyed plenty of memorable moments at Pride Park, including scoring the only goal of the game in a 1-0 League Cup semi-final win over Manchester United in January 2009, and a month later, he came back to haunt his former club Forest when he netted the winner in a 3-2 victory at the City Ground, with the Rams coming back from 2-0 down to knock their neighbours out of the FA Cup.
In total, Commons scored 24 goals and provided 27 assists in 97 games for Derby before departing for Celtic in January 2011, but he will forever be remembered for his iconic goal against Forest.
5
Matty Taylor – Bristol Rovers to Bristol City
Matty Taylor – Bristol City
After making the move to Bristol Rovers from Forest Green Rovers in June 2014, striker Matty Taylor helped the club to back-to-back promotions from the National League to League One, and he scored an impressive 68 goals in just 132 games.
Taylor was certainly a firm fan favourite at the Memorial Stadium, but that all changed when he controversially made the decision to join rivals Bristol City for a fee of £300,000 in January 2017, becoming the first player to swap the Gas for the Robins since Trevor Morgan in 1987.
The move proved to be as contentious as you would expect, with Rovers even making a complaint to the EFL as they claimed City knew the details of Taylor’s release clause before making him an offer, while the striker’s new manager, Lee Johnson, admitted that he was “very, very brave” for agreeing to the switch.
Much to the delight of Gas supporters, Taylor only scored eight goals in 75 appearances for the Robins before being loaned out to Oxford United just 18 months after his arrival.
4
Wayne Rooney – DC United to Derby County
Phillip Cocu, Wayne Rooney, Derby County
In one of the most headline-grabbing signings in Championship history, Derby County managed to convince former Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney to join the club from DC United in August 2019.
It is fair to say that the addition of Rooney was a major coup for the Rams, but the move soon attracted controversy after it was revealed that much of his £90,000-per-week salary would be paid by the club’s sponsors, leading to accusations that it was an attempt to get around Financial Fair Play rules.
Rooney scored seven goals and provided three assists in 35 games for Derby before retiring from playing to succeed Phillip Cocu as manager in November 2020, but the 39-year-old could not prevent the club’s relegation to League One in the 2021-22 season after they were deducted a total of 21 points.
3
Ross McCormack – Leeds United to Fulham
Ross McCormack Leeds United
Striker Ross McCormack’s £11 million move from Leeds to Fulham in July 2014 was not necessarily controversial in itself, but it did mark the end of one of the most extraordinary Championship transfer sagas.
As speculation gathered pace over his future in the January transfer window, McCormack appeared live on Sky Sports on what became known as Mad Friday to pledge his loyalty to the club, but less than 30 minutes later, manager Brian McDermott was sacked by incoming owner Massimo Cellino before being reinstated the following day.
Despite the chaos at the club, McCormack still managed to score an impressive 29 goals in the 2013-14 season, but after handing in a transfer request in the summer, the Scot finally got his move away from Elland Road as he joined the Cottagers.
2
Ruben Neves – Porto to Wolves
Ruben Neves, Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Derby County-1
Midfielder Ruben Neves joined Wolverhampton Wanderers from Porto in the summer of 2017 for £15.8 million, which was both a club and Championship record transfer fee.
Given that Neves had captained Porto in the Champions League and featured at senior level for the Portugal national team, there was widespread shock that Wolves had managed to pull off such an audacious deal, and while they were criticised for the fee paid, many were also uncomfortable about the club’s close relationship with agent Jorge Mendes.
However, as expected, Neves proved to be an outstanding addition for the Midlands outfit, helping them to win the Championship title and reach the quarter-finals of the Europa League during his time at Molineux, and after scoring 13 goals and registering 30 assists in 253 appearances for the club, he made a £47 million move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal in June 2023.
1
Jean-Kevin Augustin – RB Leipzig to Leeds United
Jean-Kevin Augustin
The loan signing of RB Leipzig striker Jean-Kevin Augustin generated plenty of excitement among Leeds supporters in January 2020, and as well as paying a £1.7 million fee to bring him to Elland Road on a temporary basis, the club also had the option to make the deal permanent for £17.7 million in the summer.
Augustin made just three substitute appearances in the second half of the 2019-20 season as Marcelo Bielsa’s men won the Championship title, and that sparked a bitter dispute between Leeds and Leipzig as the German side insisted that the Whites were obligated to buy the 27-year-old after achieving promotion.
Leeds claimed that the exceptional circumstances caused by the Covid-19 pandemic made the agreement null and void, but that prompted Leipzig to take legal action, and after an unsuccessful appeal in the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the West Yorkshire outfit were ordered to pay £18.4 million for Augustin.
In a further blow to the Whites, they were also forced to pay Augustin a staggering total of £24.5 million in compensation in April 2023 for breach of contract, meaning that they spent a total of over £40 million on a player who played just 48 minutes for the club.
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