Who is your club’s record transfer? Is it one to be proud of? Was the player able to cope with the perceived burden of being labelled as the most expensive in your club’s history?
As a fan growing up you always knew who, how much, from whom, and when your club’s record transfer was. There was a period for most of us in our childhood or adolescence when our club transfer record was either broken, or at least, rumoured to be broken, and the excitement that phrase evokes certainly takes me back to my youth.
Working in the recruitment sphere in professional football now, the phrase ‘club record transfer’ means little. The professionalism in the sector, the fact that so few of the people working in recruitment are actually fans of the club they work for, and the fact that the value of a player is simply that — the fee paid for the transfer is just the requirement — means this ‘barrier’ is never discussed. Fans, of course, feel completely differently, as is their right.
Some players never cope with the pressure from the stands. There is the unwritten expectation that the most expensive player a club has ever bought should also somehow be their best. Rarely does that turn out to be the case.
The Championship and club record transfers
It feels like the expectation is because the prices for everything in society is increasing, and everyone understands that football is more of a game of money than ever before, so club record transfers will break quite consistently in the modern game.
However, there is a change happening in the Championship, and, in all honesty, it has been underway for quite some time. The number of transfers including fees has massively reduced over the last few years, and whilst the fees that are paid are still substantial, fewer clubs are able to spend that money.
Speculation, investigation, and reasoning as to why that is will have to be saved for a different article, but looking at the club record transfers for the current EFL Championship clubs serves as both an act of nostalgia and proof of change, as well as a simple act of trivia.
Premier League-related purchases dominate
Seventy per cent of Championship clubs made their record purchase over five seasons ago. It probably says something about the way the clubs are run that Luton and Millwall were able to break their transfer records last summer, though the fees involved in the Zian Flemming and Carlton Morris deals are still fairly modest amongst the other clubs in the league.
Quite a number of clubs obviously spent their record fee when they were in the Premier League. This accounts for the likes of Burnley, Sheffield United, Watford, and Huddersfield in recent times, but also for teams that haven’t been in the Premier League for some time.
Emile Heskey accounts for two separate Championship clubs’ record purchase, Andrew Cole represents a different time for Blackburn fans, and Coventry’s purchase of Craig Bellamy in 2000/01 certainly won’t be in danger of being broken any time soon.
There are a couple of transfers though that also remind us of why financial restrictions are probably a necessary evil though. Bristol City’s relatively recent purchase of Tomas Kalas looks quite an eyewateringly high figure, as do Middlesbrough’s fee on Britt Assombalonga, Sone Aluko to (now-embargoed) Reading, and, even if they were a Premier League outfit at the time, Terence Kongolo to Huddersfield is a huge fee.
Sixteen of the 24 transfers, exactly two thirds, involved an attacking player. This is a pretty constant truth in football recruitment, goals cost money. The constant quest for goals is what drives everyone in the game and those that are thought to be experts in putting the ball in the net will always be able to demand a larger fee for their role.
Championship: The financial battleground
With the likes of Burnley and Norwich continuing to go out and spend substantial amounts of money on fees for players this season, balanced with the enforced embargos on four Championship clubs, the Clarets being one of them, it is clear the Championship has become a financial battleground.
Clubs like Luton and Millwall are continuing with their route of more organic growth while overseas investment is simultaneously increasing in the division with that pot of gold of Premier League football being enticingly close.
The table above of club record transfers makes for fun reading just for the sake of it, and brings an element of both nostalgia and discovery. However, it is also the potential gateway to understanding how things are changing financially in the Championship and further investigation could be conducted here.
Verdict on the transfers
Coventry: Craig Bellamy
Bellamy only had a short stint at Coventry, moving to Newcastle after one underwhelming season. Coventry regained their fee on him and after hearing his comments about Coventry I’m not sure Sky Blues fans are that enamoured with him as their record signing. “I never once enjoyed it at Coventry,” he said. “I felt quite demoralised. I had enjoyed myself so much at Norwich – but I found I had taken a backward step.” MISS
Blackburn: Andrew Cole
Cole scored the goal that won the Blackburn’s most recent major trophy, the EFL Cup against Tottenham in 2002. He couldn’t quite rekindle his partnership with Dwight Yorke at Ewood Park and was slightly underwhelming after his Newcastle and Manchester United days. HIT (just)
Birmingham: Emile Heskey
Coming from his Liverpool spell, Birmingham fans would’ve seen this as the signing that cemented them as a bonafide Premier League club. Heskey went on to win all the Player of the Season awards as well as being top scorer, and they recouped their whole fee on him when he left. HIT
Wigan: Emile Heskey
Heskey went from Birmingham to Wigan and performed a very similar role. Steve Bruce may have been a contributing factor here. Probably not enough goals, but Wigan were comfortably a Premier League team during Heskey’s time at the club and he went on to Aston Villa for a decent fee afterwards. HIT
Preston: Neil Mellor
Signed from Liverpool where his famous moment was a Champions League goal in front of the Kop. Preston fans hoped he could fire them into the Premier League, but Mellor constantly struggled for full fitness and despite showing signs of ability, never fulfilled his potential. MISS
Blackpool: DJ Campbell
A star born in an FA Cup run, Campbell had some success as a Premier League player. Campbell suited Ian Holloway’s attacking style and was Blackpool’s top scorer in their Premier League season. The fee was recouped when selling Campbell to QPR a season later. HIT
QPR: Christopher Samba
Probably the biggest symbol of the malaise at QPR, the effects of which are still being felt to this day. Samba was a huge hit in the Premier League with Blackburn Rovers, but had grown even bigger in his time away in Russia and, whilst still an effective performer, was a massive overspend on both fee and wages that didn’t prevent the inevitable implosion at Loftus Road. MISS
Cardiff: Gary Medel
A one-season wonder for Cardiff in their Premier League season. To buy a Chilean World Cup star from Sevilla is still a great coup for Cardiff and with Medel playing 34 of the 38 PL games and getting most of their fee in return at the end of the season is probably a good result. HIT
Stoke: Giannelli Imbula
One of the worst transfers on the list. Imbula initially impressed but things quickly went downhill with discussion of attitude problems. Stoke cancelled his contract in 2020 and Imbula has dotted around since, most recently joining Tuzlaspor in Turkey. MISS
West Brom: Salomon Rondon
Rondon recently became something of a laughing stock at Everton, but he did a good job for West Brom, scoring 24 goals in 100 league appearances, and is still scoring Copa Libertadores goals. West Brom even managed to make a profit on his fee by selling Rondon to China. HIT
Norwich: Timm Klose
Klose spent a good time at Norwich as the club yo-yoed between Premier League and Championship existence. An ever-present until a bad knee injury kept him out for a season, Klose still played over 100 times for Norwich and was a reliable presence. HIT
Sunderland: Didier Ndong
Initially a key member of the team at Sunderland, Ndong was unable to help the Black Cats stay up and he ended up going to Watford on loan. Now in the French second tier, he’s not the star Sunderland hoped that they were getting. MISS
Hull: Ryan Mason
This is a tough one. Mason had to retire from football after a nasty collision with Gary Cahill left him with a fractured skull only 16 games into his Hull spell.
Rotherham: Jon Taylor
Taylor was a regular for Rotherham in their time in the Championship playing around 7,000 minutes across three seasons, but for a record signing he probably didn’t make enough of an impact. He departed for Doncaster at the end of his contract. MISS
Swansea: Andre Ayew
A top class operator, Swansea signed Ayew initially on a free transfer, but this record transfer occurred when they bought him back from West Ham, who they had sold him to for £20m two years previously. He became captain of Swansea in the Championship and fired them into the play-offs. HIT
Middlesbrough: Britt Assombalonga
Bought to guarantee Championship goals for Middlesbrough, Assombalonga never really hit his stride on Teesside and despite playing more for Boro than any other club, his time there subsided into contract cancellation in 2021. MISS
Reading: Sone Aluko
A figurehead of the massive overspend at Reading trying to get themselves into the Premier League. Aluko was talented but didn’t produce enough end product for Reading and his wages/fee were exorbitant for that outcome. MISS
Huddersfield: Terence Kongolo
A defender who showed enough promise to be signed by Monaco, Huddersfield fans were delighted to secure Kongolo on a deal that became permanent on their Premier League survival. Although a regular, Kongolo went down with Huddersfield and then somehow convinced Fulham to take him permanently for a fee that recouped some of what Huddersfield had spent. MISS
Watford: Ismaila Sarr
The jury is still out on this one. Sarr has flashes and spells of brilliance and is still a highly saleable asset for Watford but he hasn’t been able to drag Watford out of their malaise this season. HIT
Bristol City: Tomas Kalas
In retrospect Bristol City may admit that Kalas is a bit of an overspend. He is a solid Championship defender, but is now massively injury prone and barely features for the Robins. I suspect they had hoped for more at the time. MISS
Sheffield United: Rhian Brewster
There may still be time to turn this around, but Brewster really just hasn’t worked out for Sheffield United. He looked a real prospect having won England youth honours and had a sparkling loan spell out in the Championship, but despite now playing in the Championship, Brewster is hardly available and doesn’t deliver an impact when he does play. MISS
Burnley: Wout Weghorst
An interesting one for Burnley. He didn’t help keep them up, but now he is on loan to Manchester United. We shall wait to see what happens now that Burnley have returned to the Premier League. MISS
Millwall: Zian Flemming
A well-scouted piece of recruitment from Millwall as they picked up the young Dutchman from Fortuna Sittard. Can score different types of goals as well as assist, was a key player for Millwall’s play-off push though they ultimately fell short. HIT
Luton: Carlton Morris
Another excellent piece of scouting and recruitment. Morris had performed well when Barnsley made the playoffs and Luton swooped after Barnsley’s relegation and the forward has been one of the leading goalscorers in the Championship this term. HIT