The 15 most controversial EFL Championship transfers of all time (Ranked).
Clubs from all around the division will be getting ready for the summer transfer window now that the Championship season is over.
This summer’s transfer window will be a little different. Clubs will be able to conduct business from June 1st to June 10th, prior to the Club World Cup, then again from June 16th to September 1st.
A fascinating few months could lie ahead as many second-tier teams are likely to make significant squad investments this summer due to the possibility of earning Premier League football. In addition to the three relegated clubs, newly promoted Wrexham and Birmingham City are anticipated to be among the biggest out-of-the-top-flight spenders.
We looked back and ranked the top 15 most contentious trades that have occurred in the Championship, which has seen many eye-catching transactions over the years.
| 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 |
15Max Lowe – Sheffield United to Sheffield Wednesday
After being released by the Blades at the end of his contract, Lowe chose to join their fierce rivals. Lowe played four years at Bramall Lane and was a member of the team that was promoted to the Premier League in the 2022–2023 season.
Lowe’s move to Hillsborough was not met with the hostility it could have in other situations because United had decided to let him leave, but the 28-year-old was still not welcomed particularly warmly when he rejoined the Owls in November.
14 Scott Hogan: Birmingham City vs. Aston Villa
Hogan paid £12 million to join Villa from Brentford in January 2017, although he only managed 10 goals in 61 games. Following stints on loan at Stoke City and Sheffield United, he temporarily moved to St Andrew’s in January 2020.
Hogan scored 36 goals in 158 games for the Blues after the trade was finalised that summer, but it wasn’t all sunshine and rose for the former Republic of Ireland international, who recently acknowledged that he “fell out of love with football” while playing for the team.
13Cyrus Christie: Middlesbrough to Derby County
The Teesside team chose to look into the signing of Christie after the Daily Mail reported in 2019 that Boro was accused former manager Garry Monk and his agent James Featherstone of “deceiving them in the transfer market to the tune of millions of pounds.”
It was revealed that Boro had only planned to pay about £1.75 million for the right-back, but Monk’s representative had urged the Rams to hold out for a bigger price. Boro were reportedly furious to learn that Featherstone had been acting for Derby when they finalised a deal for Christie.
Before joining Fulham in January 2018, Christie made 26 appearances for the team in just six months at Riverside Stadium. It’s safe to say that the accusations against Monk and Featherstone raised doubts about the deal.
12Genk to Burnley with Mike Tresor
Burnley had to permanently purchase winger Mike Tresor from Genk in the summer for £15.4 million, even though he didn’t perform well during his loan stint at Turf Moor in the Premier League.
But as soon as it became apparent that Ajax was interested in Tresor, the 25-year-old vented his fury on social media after not being able to sign with the Dutch powerhouse, thus escalating his rift with Clarets fans who were already dissatisfied with his performances from the previous campaign.
Tresor made just one FA Cup appearance for Burnley during their promotion-winning season following the summer transfer saga, and to make his continued absence even more mysterious, neither owner Alan Pace nor head coach Scott Parker could provide an explanation. This made it one of the most perplexing situations in Championship history.
11Steve Morison, Leeds United vs. Norwich City
Even though Leeds United and Millwall are not geographically connected, they are still very much in love, so many were taken aback when former Lions player Steve Morison arrived to Elland Road from Norwich City in January 2013.
Manager Neil Warnock said that supporters would quickly forget whatever concerns they had about the striker’s acquisition, but that did not turn out to be the case. Morison joined the Whites as part of a trade deal that saw Luciano Becchio travel in the opposite direction from Carrow Road.
Following a lacklustre tenure in West Yorkshire, the 41-year-old returned to The Den permanently in August 2015 after making just five goals in 42 appearances for Leeds before going on loan to Millwall.
10 Gary Madine: Sheffield United vs. Cardiff City
It was quite unexpected to see striker Gary Madine join the Owls’ rivals Sheffield United on loan from Cardiff City in January 2019. Madine is most known for his time at Sheffield Wednesday, where he scored 28 goals in 113 games during a four-and-a-half-year stint at Hillsborough between 2011 and 2015.
The 34-year-old insisted that the impression that he did not like United was “not true” after completing his move to the club. Blades manager Chris Wilder had previously accused Madine of a “lack of respect” in 2017 after a video of him criticising Billy Sharp went viral on social media, making his arrival at Bramall Lane all the more surprising.
With three goals in 16 games to assist Wilder’s team gain automatic promotion to the Premier League, Madine proved to be a valuable addition, and that undoubtedly did not sit well with the opposing Steel City team.
9. Barnsley to Sheffield Wednesday with Sam Winnall
Although Sheffield United and Barnsley are Sheffield Wednesday’s primary rivals, the Owls’ contentious January 2017 acquisition of Sam Winnall, the Tykes’ star scorer, for a meagre £500,000 sum was also a love affair.
Many Reds fans accused the 34-year-old of putting money before loyalty after Winnall scored 11 goals in 23 games during a successful first half of the season. Wednesday reportedly offered him a salary of £18,000 per week, which was four times higher than his current earnings.
Less than three months after leaving, Winnall returned to Oakwell and added insult to injury by scoring after a furious home supporter had delayed the start of the game by hurling a plush Peppa Pig toy at him. However, that would turn out to be one of the few highlights of a dismal stint at Hillsborough.
8Alex Pritchard: Birmingham City to Sunderland
When midfielder Alex Pritchard joined Sunderland in the summer of 2021, his career was at a crossroads, but everyone benefited from his relocation to the Stadium of Light.
Pritchard scored nine goals and dishevelled 24 assists in 115 games for the Black Cats, winning promotion from League One and making it to the Championship play-offs. However, his relationship with the fans soured when rumours circulated that he would be reuniting with former manager Tony Mowbray at Birmingham in January 2024.
One day before a match against Stoke City, Prittchard withdrew from the matchday squad and told Sunderland that he was no longer available for selection in an attempt to pressure them into a move. This did not sit well with the club’s ardent supporters, and although he eventually got his wish to join the Blues, he only made nine appearances as his new team was demoted to League One.
7Brandon Williams, Ipswich Town vs. Manchester United
Even though it gave him the chance to work with his former Red Devils coach Kieran McKenna once more, Williams’ decision to cross the East Anglian divide and join the Tractor Boys was undoubtedly a brave one. He had previously spent the 2021–22 season on loan at Norwich after they were demoted from the Premier League.
Although he did not play in the last few months of his loan spell, the 24-year-old was a member of the team that helped the Suffolk team return to the top flight for the first time in 22 years, further infuriating Canaries supporters with a social media post that made fun of them for finishing lower in the table than Ipswich.
6Kris Commons: Derby County to Nottingham Forest
Commons scored the game’s lone goal in a 1-0 League Cup semi-final victory over Manchester United in January 2009, and he returned to haunt his old team Forest a month later by scoring the game-winning goal in a 3-2 victory at the City Ground. The Rams rallied from a 2-0 deficit to eliminate their neighbours from the FA Cup. Commons had many memorable moments at Pride Park.
Commons will always be remembered for his historic goal against Forest, even though he played 97 games for Derby and finished with 24 goals and 27 assists before leaving for Celtic in January 2011.
5Matty Taylor: Bristol City vs. Bristol Rovers
Striker Matty Taylor, who joined Bristol Rovers from Forest Green Rovers in June 2014, scored an incredible 68 goals in just 132 appearances and helped the team win back-to-back promotions from the National League to League One.
Taylor was undoubtedly a fan favourite at Memorial Stadium, but all changed in January 2017 when he controversially decided to sign a contract with Bristol City for £300,000, making him the first player to leave the Gas for the Robins since Trevor Morgan in 1987.
As anticipated, the move was highly controversial; Rovers even complained to the EFL, claiming that City was aware of Taylor’s release clause prior to making an offer. Meanwhile, the striker’s new manager, Lee Johnson, acknowledged that he was “very, very brave” to accept the transfer.
Taylor only managed to score eight goals in 75 games for the Robins before being loaned to Oxford United barely eighteen months after joining, much to the pleasure of Gas fans.
4Wayne Rooney, Derby County to DC United
In August 2019, Derby County persuaded Wayne Rooney, a former Manchester United and England great, to join the team from DC United in one of the most high-profile acquisitions in Championship history.
It’s safe to say that Rooney’s arrival was a huge win for the Rams, but the move quickly sparked controversy when it was disclosed that the club’s sponsors would cover a large portion of his £90,000 weekly salary, sparking claims that it was an attempt to circumvent Financial Fair Play regulations.
Before retiring to take over as manager in November 2020, Rooney scored seven goals and gave three assists in 35 appearances for Derby. However, the 39-year-old was unable to stop the team’s relegation to League One in the 2021–22 season as they were docked a total of 21 points.
3Ross McCormack, Fulham to Leeds United
As rumours swirled about his future during the January transfer window, McCormack made a live appearance on Sky Sports on what became known as Mad Friday to swear allegiance to the team. However, less than half an hour later, new owner Massimo Cellino fired manager Brian McDermott, who was later reinstated the next day.
McCormack scored an incredible 29 goals in the 2013–14 season despite the upheaval at the club, but the Scot ultimately earned a move away from Elland Road when he joined the Cottagers in the summer after submitting a transfer request.
2Ruben Neves: Wolves vs. Porto
In the summer of 2017, midfielder Ruben Neves moved from Porto to Wolverhampton Wanderers for a club and Championship record fee of £15.8 million.
Neves had captained Porto in the Champions League and played for the Portugal national team at the senior level, so it was widely shocking that Wolves had pulled off such a bold deal. Although the club was criticised for the amount paid, many were also uneasy about their close relationship with agent Jorge Mendes.
But as anticipated, Neves was a fantastic addition to the Midlands team, helping them win the Championship and advance to the Europa League quarterfinals while he was at Molineux. In June 2023, after making 253 appearances for the team and recording 13 goals and 30 assists, he moved to Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia for £47 million.
Leeds United vs. RB Leipzig, Jean-Kevin Augustin
Leeds fans were very excited about the January 2020 loan signing of Jean-Kevin Augustin, a striker for RB Leipzig. In addition to paying £1.7 million to bring him to Elland Road temporarily, the club also had the option to make the deal permanent in the summer for £17.7 million.
In the second half of the 2019–20 season, Augustin only made three substitute appearances as Marcelo Bielsa’s team won the Championship title. This led to a tense argument between Leeds and Leipzig, as the German team insisted that the Whites had to purchase the 27-year-old after gaining promotion.
Leipzig filed a lawsuit after Leeds argued that the Covid-19 pandemic’s extraordinary circumstances rendered the deal void. Following a failed appeal in the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the West Yorkshire team was ordered to pay £18.4 million for Augustin.
The Whites suffered a further setback in April 2023 when they were ordered to pay Augustin an incredible £24.5 million in compensation for breach of contract. This means that they spent more than £40 million for a player who only played 48 minutes for the team.
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