Exclusive: Don Goodman reveals the 2 EFL clubs that have an impressive transfer strategy | OneFootball

Which clubs have impressed the Sky Sports pundit the most when it comes to recent transfer dealings?

Sky Sports pundit and EFL expert Don Goodman has revealed which two current sides across the Championship, League One and League Two have impressed him with their recent transfer strategies.

The aforementioned three divisions and home to 72 of England's professional clubs have been a goldmine when it comes to Premier League and top-flight sides across Europe looking to strike bargain deals for some of the country's top talents that aren't always necessarily in the spotlight.

However, such is the attention that has been put on the Championship, in particular, sides currently in the second-tier are starting to make several high-profile additions themselves.

Throughout the summer transfer window, this was epitomised as Ipswich Town struck a club and divisional-record deal to sign Norwegian winger, Sindre Walle Egeli, for £17.5m from Danish Superliga outfit, FC Nordsjaelland, on a five-year contract, eclipsing the previous top money signing at the level which saw Burnley part with an obligatory £15.4m to sign Mike Tresor from Belgian side, KRC Genk just 12 months previous.

We also saw the League One transfer record smashed multiple times in the summer window of 2024 by eventual EFL points' record holders, Birmingham City, who eventually parted with an eight-figure sum to sign Jay Stansfield on a permanent basis from Fulham, with the England Under-21 international scoring 24 times in all competitions under Chris Davies last term before continuing such strong form in the Championship.

However, such exploits don't necessarily mean that Goodman has been impressed by the aforementioned sides the most when it comes to recent transfer dealings, with the former Wolverhampton Wanderers striker exclusively revealing his selections to Football League World.

Sustainability has become a key buzzword in modern football, with there being several examples of scattergun approaches which have led to severe sanctions imposed by the EFL on specific clubs, most notably, Sheffield Wednesday and Hull City, who are currently in administration and/or under transfer restrictions.

As such, Goodman has praised Coventry City and Peterborough United for their recent approaches, particularly the Sky Blues, who could end a 25-year wait for Premier League football in the coming months under Frank Lampard after being able to successfully rebuild on appearances at the Championship play-off final and FA Cup semi-finals under his predecessor, Mark Robins.

"I think, obviously, everybody would love to copy the Brighton, Brentford and Bournemouth model, and they've been EFL clubs in the not-too-distant past," Goodman told FLW.

"But, of the current crop, I would probably, with difficulty, have to go with Coventry," he added.

"Certainly over the last two or three seasons, which has allowed them to sustain being - at the worst - a play-off contender and an FA Cup semi-finalist.

"When you look at the recruitment, the likes of (Jack) Rudoni and (Matt) Grimes, Haji Wright, (Ephron) Mason-Clark, Bobby Thomas and (Liam) Kitching, Victor Torp. The list goes on really, to be honest.

"When you marry that up with the fact they've been able to sell (Viktor) Gyokeres and (Gus) Hamer for big money, Ben Sheaf in the summer. They would be my current pick along with Peterborough," Goodman explained.

"How could you deny Peterborough's transfer dealings as being anything other than spectacular over the past 10,12,15 years," he claimed.

"Unfortunately for them, they're at that point now when selling their best players is starting to bite.

"Hopefully they can turn it around under Luke Williams anyway and kick on again.

"But, over the past 10,12,15 years, their recruitment and the money they've got from sales has been exceptional."

Coventry City and Peterborough United have been extremely shrewd operators in recent years

It is hard to deny Goodman's picks, with both clubs enjoying recent rises of late after selling key stars on for profit, albeit Peterborough's start to the current season in League One has been a complete contrast to the Sky Blues in the Championship.

It is a testament to the work of Doug King and the backing he has provided Robins and Lampard, as well as the work of those behind-the-scenes, which has allowed City to rarely show any ill-affects after Gyokeres and Hamer were sold for big money, although they missed out on banking any further fees in the summer as the Swedish forward moved from Sporting CP to Arsenal for at least £55m.

As for Posh, they have seen Mason-Clark move to the CBS Arena as one of many high-profile departures, with the most notable, of course, being the sale of Ivan Toney to Brentford in 2020 for an initial £5m plus add-ons, although they will reportedly be waiting until 2028 to receive a further £4m as part of the £40m deal which saw the England international move to Saudi Pro League side, Al-Hilal, last summer.