15 worst signings in EFL Championship history ranked | OneFootball

FLW have looked at 15 signings in EFL Championship history which didn't pay off at all

The Championship summer transfer window is around the corner, and plenty of focus will be on incomings as much as outgoings ahead of the gruelling 46-game campaign that runs from August until May.

Following their relegation from the Premier League, Wolverhampton Wanderers have already made waves in the market despite a controversial change of head coach, whilst the London Stadium is likely to be a hive of activity as West Ham United reportedly look to generate north of £100m in player sales as they look to mount an immediate promotion bid alongside the West Midlands outfit and Burnley.

Birmingham City and Wrexham are also expected to continue their recent big-spending themes, whilst Lincoln City, Cardiff City and Bolton Wanderers will hope to recruit smartly in an attempt to stave off a first-time fall back into League One.

Last season, we saw the division's record fee for an incoming player smashed by Ipswich Town, who, en route to promotion, spent £17.5m on Norwegian winger, Sindre Walle Egeli.

However, throughout history, the Championship has proven that money doesn't always guarantee success on a collective and individual basis, and with that said, Football League World have ranked the 15-worst signings in the division's history.

15 ? ? Jordan Rhodes - Middlesbrough to Sheffield Wednesday

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Jordan Rhodes will go down as one of the EFL's biggest cult heroes, mainly for his goalscoring exploits at Huddersfield Town and Blackburn Rovers.

And, whilst his £9m switch from the Ewood Park side to Middlesbrough wasn't exactly money well spent, his even-greater £10m move to Sheffield Wednesday the following winter turned out even worse.

In his opening months at Hillsborough, Rhodes scored just three times as Wednesday suffered defeat in the play-offs to his old club, Huddersfield, before the eight-figure sum was activated in the summer of 2017.

After an indifferent 2017/18 campaign, the striker spent a season on loan with title-winning Norwich City, but then struggled to return to form in two further seasons in S6, and the Owls eventually made a significant loss on the deal in 2021 after their relegation under Darren Moore, when Rhodes departed on a free transfer.

14 ? ? Lovre Kalinic - KAA Gent to Aston Villa

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Aston Villa's three-season stint in the Championship was full of drama to say the least, and their promotion-winning term of 2018/19 was no exception.

Following Steve Bruce's dismissal in October 2018, there was a strong argument that the newly-appointed Dean Smith was left short-changed in several departments, leading to a critical first transfer window in charge.

While the boyhood supporter nailed acquisitions such as the initial loan swoop of Tyrone Mings, the less said about Lovre Kalinic's £7m move from KAA Gent, the better.

Despite being 6"7, the Croatian never looked convincing and made several errors in games against Swansea City, Hull City and Sheffield United.

After being substituted at half-time in a 2-0 defeat to West Bromwich Albion in February 2019, Kalinic was dropped for Jed Steer, and never played for Villa again, eventually seeing a permanent return to Hadjuk Split confirmed in 2022 after two loan spells.

13 ? ? Tom Ince - Huddersfield Town to Stoke City

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Tom Ince's career has been one of mixed fortunes, with his time at Stoke City certainly on the lower end of said spectrum following a £10m-plus move from Huddersfield Town.

Despite helping the Terriers survive in the Premier League the previous season, Ince was one of several high-profile acquisitions made by Gary Rowett in what proved to be a disastrous transfer window in the summer of 2018 at the Bet365 Stadium.

Stoke were expected to romp to the Championship title as a result, but massively flattered to deceive, with the likes of the winger having minimal impact.

In total, Ince made 103 appearances for the Staffordshire outfit but only posted 26 goal contributions before departing on a free transfer in the summer of 2022 upon the expiration of his contract.

12 ? ? Yanic Wildschut - Wigan Athletic to Norwich City

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In 12th place is Dutch winger Yanic Wildschut, who was unable to justify Norwich City's £7m deal with Wigan Athletic in January 2017.

During the Latics' prior League One title-winning season, he was able to accrue seven goals and 14 assists, although he wouldn't exactly be able to keep up such sparkling form at the DW Stadium as Wigan struggled to get to grips back in the second tier.

Regardless, Norwich still forked out the aforementioned hefty fee in the hope he could turn out a success at Carrow Road, but that couldn't have been further from the truth.

As well as only scoring twice in 29 appearances for the Canaries, Wildschut endured two unsuccessful loans at Cardiff City and Bolton Wanderers, and was subsequently released by Daniel Farke's side as they prepared for the 2019/20 Premier League season.

11 ? ? Tom Cannon - Leicester City to Sheffield United

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Next up is Tom Cannon, who moved from Leicester City to Sheffield United in January 2025 in a deal worth around £10m.

Unfortunately, the 23-year-old is still yet to justify said fee at Bramall Lane, despite enjoying an 11-goal loan stint at Stoke City on loan from the King Power Stadium in the first half of the 2024/25 campaign.

In his first 15 appearances for the Blades, the former Everton man only scored once, and then endured a difficult 2025/26 season under Ruben Selles and Chris Wilder, scoring six times in 36 games.

As such, it remains to be seen whether the Irish international is affected by the United boss' squad reshuffle in the summer of 2026.

10 ? ? Benik Afobe - Wolves to Stoke City

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Moving into the top 10, Benik Afobe's move from Wolverhampton Wanderers to Stoke City, which set the Potters back £12m after an initial six-month loan deal until January 2019.

As previously mentioned, Stoke were expected to win promotion at the first time of asking following their relegation in 2017/18, but they ended the campaign in 16th under Rowett and Nathan Jones.

Despite ending the season as the club's top scorer with nine goals in all competitions, the forward only made two more appearances for Stoke until his permanent exit to Millwall in 2022, which also ended in disappointment after previous loan stints with the Lions, Bristol City and Trabzonspor.

9 ? ? Martin Braithwaite - Toulouse to Middlesbrough

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Similarly, Middlesbrough were among the promotion favourites two years previous following the appointment of Garry Monk at the Riverside Stadium.

As well as the club-record acquisition of Britt Assombalonga from Nottingham Forest in his only transfer window in charge, Boro also parted with £9m to sign Martin Braithwaite on a four-year deal from Toulouse.

Yet, after scoring five times in 19 appearances following the initial move, Braithwaite was loaned out to Bordeaux, and after a similar tale in the 2018/19 season under Tony Pulis' management, joined CD Leganes on loan, before moving to the Spanish side on a permanent basis months later.

€18m release clause, scoring 10 times at the Nou Camp, trumping his Boro goal tally.

8 ? ? Isaac Mbenza - Montpellier to Huddersfield Town

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Huddersfield Town's 2018/19 season proved to be a calamity, emphasised by some of the club's decisions in the transfer market, as they ended the Premier League season bottom on just 16 points.

One of their summer recruits was Isaac Mbenza, who joined on loan from Montpellier with an obligation-to-buy of £11m the following year, in which they were returning to the Championship.

After scoring just once in the top-flight, the Belgian youth international, in the following two seasons, only made a combined total of 41 Championship appearances, with the majority of those coming under Carlos Corberan, scoring five times and posting seven assists, with a loan spell at Amiens SC sandwiched inbetween.

Despite seeing his contract extended into the 2021/22 season, Town made a full loss on Mbenza's services by terminating his contract in September 2021.

7 ? ? Mike Tresor - KRC Genk to Burnley

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Coming in as the seventh-worst signing in Championship history is Mike Tresor, who was initially loaned in by Burnley from KRC Genk during the Clarets' 2023/24 Premier League season.

Yet, despite making 16 appearances with minimal impact at Turf Moor, an appearance-based clause in the aforementioned agreement saw the club part with £16m upon their return to the Championship.

However, whilst the East Lancashire outfit achieved 100 points in Scott Parker's only full season at the club, Tresor only featured once all season in an FA Cup victory over Reading, before fitness issues limited his availability in 2025/26 to just eight appearances in all competitions.

As such, the Belgian is likely to go down as one of the Clarets' largest transfer mishaps.

6 ? ? Harry Winks - Tottenham Hotspur to Leicester City

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Harry Winks' spell at Leicester City has been well-documented, with Enzo Maresca initially making the former England international a marquee £10m addition in the summer of 2023.

After proving to be a key cog in the Italian's title-winning side at the King Power Stadium with two added goals, Winks' popularity amongst supporters has severely nosedived amid back-to-back relegations.

Although the experienced figure has amassed over 100 appearances for the club, Winks was reported to have had a bust-up with former boss, Ruud Van Nistelrooy in the final weeks of the 2024/25 campaign and was omitted from the squad.

He was then subject of a heated exchange with a disgruntled supporter following a 1-0 loss at Portsmouth in April 2026, which was a hugely damaging loss in City's second successive drop amid a six-point deduction.