Burnley
Blackburn Rovers
Coventry City
Derby County
Leeds United
Luton Town
Middlesbrough
Millwall
Norwich City
Portsmouth
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield United
QPR
Several Championship sides have shelled out substantial fees this summer, but some clubs have also been exceptional sellers in the window.
Throughout the summer transfer window, several Championship sides have spent big, namely: relegated duo Ipswich Town and Southampton, Hollywood-backed Wrexham and promotion-hopefuls Norwich City.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, clubs such as Sheffield Wednesday and Leicester City failed to spend this summer amid their respective financial issues.
With the international break pausing the 2025/26 Championship season just days after the summer transfer window slammed shut, it seems pertinent to analyse the business done in the second tier.
Here, EFL Analysis dissects every Championship club’s summer net spend.
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Southampton top best net spend of every Championship club this summer
1 – Southampton (+£62.3m)
Will Still’s Southampton top the Championship in terms of net spend this summer with a £62m profit made within the window after earning £110m from player sales.
Notable departures came for the Saints with Mateus Fernandes joining West Ham and Tyler Dibling moving to Everton, with those two sales considerably boosting Southampton’s financial coffers despite their own substantial £48.6m expenditure.
2 – Leicester City (+£47.1m)
Beneath Southampton are Marti Cifuentes’ Foxes, who have failed to spend transfer fees this summer, given the club’s financial issues.
Leicester sold Mads Hermansen to West Ham for £18m, Wilfried Ndidi moved to Besiktas, and Ipswich shelled out an eight-figure fee for Kasey McAteer to leave the Foxes in £47m profit this summer.
3 – Ipswich Town (+£24.6m)
Speaking of the Tractor Boys, Ipswich sit third for the best balance this summer despite their £51m outlay on 19 new arrivals, including McAteer and their £17.2m signing of Sindre Walle Egeli.
| Club name | Net spend (Income minus expenditure) |
| Southampton | £62.3m |
| Leicester City | £47.1m |
| Ipswich Town | £24.6m |
| Sheffield United | £16.4m |
| West Brom | £7.5m |
| Norwich City | £6.5m |
| Watford | £4.9m |
| Middlesbrough | £4.9m |
| Hull City | £2.5m |
| Sheffield Wednesday | £2m |
| Bristol City | £1.5m |
| Oxford United | £0 |
| Coventry City | – £870k |
| Millwall | – £1.3m |
| Preston North End | – £1.4m |
| Stoke City | – £1.95m |
| Portsmouth | – £2m |
| Birmingham City | – £3.6m |
| QPR | – £5.5m |
| Swansea City | – £6m |
| Blackburn Rovers | – £6.7m |
| Derby County | – £8.1m |
| Charlton Athletic | – £10m |
| Wrexham | – £23.7m |
Three Championship clubs with the lowest summer net spend
22 – Derby County (- £8.1m)
Derby County brought in 16 signings this summer, with 20 departing Pride Park in a transitional summer under John Eustace.
Derby signed Patrick Agyemang from MLS outfit Charlotte FC and full-back Max Johnston from Sturm Graz, leaving the Rams with -£8.1m net spend after several players departed on free transfers.
23 – Charlton Athletic (- £10m)
Charlton Athletic have spent heavily this summer, namely with the signing of Charlie Kelman from QPR.
The Addicks’ net spend is estimated to be around -£10m, given that their departures have dominantly been free transfers and loan moves.
24 – Wrexham (- £23.7m)
Unsurprisingly, high-spending Wrexham sit at the foot of the net spend Championship list following their significant £23.7m outlay on several marquee signings, including the £8m move to sign Callum Doyle from Manchester City.
The Dragons’ expenditure sits fourth highest in the Championship this summer as per Transfermarkt, but their failure to make significant sales has put the Welsh giants in the red zone financially.