Grading all 24 EFL Championship club's January transfer window | OneFootball

Football League World grades every second tier side's business in the January transfer window

The winter transfer window slammed shut on February 2, which means that the home stretch towards game number 46 and the end of the season is upon us in the Championship.

Given the close-knit nature of the second tier this season, outside the unfortunate case of bottom club Sheffield Wednesday, 23 sides in the division have something to aim for in the final few months, whether that be automatic promotion, a spot in the play-offs or in the fight to avoid relegation.

Therefore, a solid January window will set these teams on their way to achieving those goals, while a poor one leaves them at risk of being left behind by their peers.

But how good was every second-tier side's winter window? Football League World has taken a look and graded each side individually from A-F.

Birmingham City - A

Everyone has high expectations of Birmingham City in the transfer window, given the backing of Tom Wagner and his Kighthead Capital Management group, and it's safe to say that those expectations have been met.

Issues at full-back were resolved immediately with Kai Wagner's arrival, and a short-handed centre-back department was bolstered by Jonathan Panzo's deadline day signing.

Patrick Roberts' loan was made permanent following an impressive opening half of the campaign, and fellow arrivals Carlos Vicente, August Priske, Jhon Solis and loanee Ibrahim Osman show the forward direction that the club is going in.

On the flip side, numerous players who had been a part of League One success were shifted, and those already on loan had permanent moves made to just reduce the wage bill.

Overall, this window could be the one that stands out as the window where Birmingham began acting on their Premier League ambitions.

Blackburn Rovers - F

From an A, to an F, Blackburn Rovers are in a little bit of a dire situation, following an unproductive transfer window which ended with Valerien Ismael being sacked on deadline day.

The relegation-threatened Rovers splashed a "multi-million pound" fee on winger Mathias Jorgensen, but other than that, Dapo Afolayan may have Bundesliga experience, but he's yet to play higher than League One over in England, and then a loan move for Eiran Cashin resembles their incomings.

They didn't lose anyone too significant, but even then, three new faces to add to a side already in a relegation battle doesn't strike confidence into Rovers fans.

Bristol City - D

Bristol City had a bit of an odd transfer window. Their outgoings outweigh their incomings, and among those outgoings are Zak Vyner, who had spent over 20 years at Ashton Gate having come through the academy, and star man Anis Mehmeti, who had 14 goal contributions in 28 league games this season for the Robins.

Therefore, the grading can't be that high, but at least the signings of Noah Eile from New York Red Bulls and Tomi Horvat from Austrian side Sturm Graz can help plug that gap.

Additionally, the loan additions of George Earthy and, after a lot of waiting, Delano Burgzorg, can help perhaps maintain an outside chance at the play-offs, and in Sam Morsy, there's a solid leader to add to an injury-ravaged middle pack.

The signings are fine, but the outgoings are too much of a drawback, unfortunately.

Charlton Athletic - B

It's been a quietly solid transfer window for Nathan Jones' Charlton Athletic, with the focus mainly being on the loan market after a summer of permanent deals.

Speaking of that summer, the likes of Rob Apter and Tanto Olaofe, who weren't getting minutes, were loaned back to League One clubs, and could, therefore, be in a good position to hit the ground running once more next season.

Lyndon Dykes and Conor Coady are your classic 'Nathan Jones' signings, but in Luke Chambers and Jayden Fevrier, there have been exciting young loan additions to go alongside them, and an enigematic, young centre-back on a permanent too, in Collins Sichenje from the Serbian league.

No one of note lost, and that should help the Addicks survive safely in their first year back in the second tier.

Coventry City - B

For sides at the top of the division, a lot of credit can be given for keeping their personnel away from interested sides at the bottom of the Premier League, and Coventry City have gone through January with no major departures.

Romain Esse has already shown his worth after arriving on loan from Crystal Palace with goals, Yang Min-Hyeok is an apt back-up, and Sky Blues fans will be excited to see Jahnoah Markelo in action.

Frank Onyeka will give some needed physicality in the middle, and hopefully that will boost Frank Lamopard's side into a run akin to their one from September to November, where they were unstoppable.

A defensive addition stops this from being an A, but still a strong window for Coventry.

Derby County - A

Derby County's squad didn't need too much in terms of an upgrade after a strong summer window had helped John Eustace's side to the periphery of the play-offs anyway, but they've added here and there to improve their chances.

A few players on the fringes of action were either sold or loaned out to League One sides, while Ebou Adams stands as the main sale, but the former Derby skipper was falling out of favour, and this month presented a good opportunity to cash in on the 30-year-old.

In terms of incomings, Oscar Fraulo adds to the midfield, Derry Murkin is an attacking full-back who can battle with Callum Elder for the starting spot there, and then there's the small matter of Sammie Szmodics on deadline day, if John Eustace didn't need any more of his former Blackburn players.

The 30-year-old may not have been able to reach the heights at Ipswich Town since his move from Ewood Park, but if he stays injury-free, he could be a massive part in a play-off push at Pride Park.

Hull City - A

Hull City have had a great transfer window, all things considered, given the Tigers were working under a fee restriction once again.

Thankfully, that restriction has now been lifted, but for the time being, Hull will be especially pleased that they were able to bring in Toby Collyer and Lewis Koumas on loan, who both have clear quality, but just endured difficult opening halves of the season elsewhere.

Additionally, the likes of Paddy McNair and Kieran Dowell are solid squad players for the Championship, and will just help bulk out Sergej Jakirovic's squad as the Tigers continue their unlikely push towards the top two.

More importantly, though, they were able to keep hold of the likes of Charlie Hughes and Oli McBurnie, while Joe Gelhardt did not get recalled by Leeds United from his loan spell, who will all be key factors in a potential promotion campaign.

Ipswich Town - A

In a copy and paste from the likes of Coventry and Hull's analysis, the fact that Ipswich have been able to keep hold of their top-flight quality players automatically means that it's a very solid window.

But then to add Dan Niel, Sunderland's play-off winning captain from last season, and Bristol City's Mehmeti, who is one of the better players in the division, on a low-cut fee due to the Robins' need to sell ahead of his contract expiring in the summer, just makes the squad even better.

It was, overall, a quiet window for Kieran McKenna's side, but sometimes a low-key window can be among the best.

Leicester City - C

An incredibly unremarkable January for Leicester City, who, like Blackburn, have a managerial change at the forefront of their minds, after Marti Cifuentes was dismissed in the final week of the window.

Every one of Leicester's four deals were done on deadline day, with a couple of exciting-looking youngsters from Manchester City and Chelsea's academies in Dujuan Richards and Divine Mukasa joining fellow loanee Joe Aribo from Southampton and veteran centre-back Jamal Lascelles.

Lascelles is a solid pickup for a Foxes side that has struggled for clean sheets all season, but the others aren't exactly deals that get you out of your seats.

Middlesbrough - B

Middlesbrough got the majority of their business done in the early weeks of the January transfer window, bringing in some talented youngsters through the door in Leo Castledine and Finley Munroe, who had both excelled in the lower leagues of the EFL in the opening half of the campaign.

In addition, Jeremy Sarmiento joined late on, who has been part of the last two sides to finish second in the Championship in Ipswich and Burnley — if that's Middlesbrough's aim, then there aren't many better players to sign.

In terms of outgoings, no one who has been a real star under Kim Hellberg departed, and most important of all, Hayden Hackney is still at the Riverside.