Burnley
Blackburn Rovers
Coventry City
Derby County
Leeds United
Luton Town
Middlesbrough
Millwall
Norwich City
Portsmouth
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield United
QPR
Birmingham City and Middlesbrough both have promotion on their mind and therefore will consider themselves as direct rivals in the transfer window too.
Chris Davies and Rob Edwards have both been working hard to add to their squads to challenge for promotion and have made some smart moves.
Kyogo Furuhashi is easily Birmingham’s biggest signing this summer but Edwards has found things more frustrating and is still looking for his first signing.
Sontje Hansen has interested multiple Championship clubs, including the Blues and Boro, but the latest reports from the Netherlands are a cause for concern.
Sontje Hansen accused of causing ‘headaches’ at NEC Nijmegen
Hansen was once wanted by Manchester City when coming through the ranks but never fully realised his potential and is still in the Eredivisie at NEC Nijmegen.
But, according to Dutch outlet De Gelderlander, the winger is causing problems in the dressing room.
He was substituted after 30 minutes of the friendly against FC Groningen after manager Dick Schreuder claimed he “seemed tired”.
The report also added that Hansen is beginning to cause problems on the pitch and is leaving his teammates visibly frustrated with his actions.
Birmingham and Middlesbrough should avoid signing Sontje Hansen
Hansen is certainly a gifted player and based on his technical ability alone, would be a fantastic signing.
Discipline is important though and the risk of him disrupting the harmony in the squad makes him a risky option.
At Birmingham, Davies built a squad all pulling in the same direction, something Edwards is trying to repeat with Boro.
Bringing in a player with a previous reputation of allegedly upsetting teammates and not giving it their all wouldn’t help and the risk of that rubbing off on other members of the squad would be considered to be a major red flag.