The 15 most controversial EFL Championship transfers of all time (Ranked)
With the Championship season now concluded, clubs from across the division will be preparing for the summer transfer window.
The transfer window will be structured slightly differently this summer, with clubs able to do business between the 1st and 10th June before the Club World Cup, and then again from the 16th June all the way through to the 1st September.
With the potential prize of Premier League football on offer, many second tier sides are likely to invest heavily in their squads this summer, and newly-promoted duo Wrexham and Birmingham City are expected to be among the biggest spenders outside the top flight in addition to the three relegated clubs, so an intriguing few months could be ahead.
There have been plenty of eye-catching transfer deals in the Championship over the years, and we looked back and ranked the top 15 most controversial transfers that have taken place in the division.
| The top 15 most controversial Championship transfers of all time | ||
| Rank | Player | Clubs involved |
| 15 | Max Lowe | Sheffield United to Sheffield Wednesday |
| 14 | Scott Hogan | Aston Villa to Birmingham City |
| 13 | Cyrus Christie | Derby County to Middlesbrough |
| 12 | Mike Tresor | Genk to Burnley |
| 11 | Steve Morison | Norwich City to Leeds United |
| 10 | Gary Madine | Cardiff City to Sheffield United |
| 9 | Sam Winnall | Barnsley to Sheffield Wednesday |
| 8 | Alex Pritchard | Sunderland to Birmingham City |
| 7 | Brandon Williams | Manchester United to Ipswich Town |
| 6 | Kris Commons | Nottingham Forest to Derby County |
| 5 | Matty Taylor | Bristol Rovers to Bristol City |
| 4 | Wayne Rooney | DC United to Derby County |
| 3 | Ross McCormack | Leeds United to Fulham |
| 2 | Ruben Neves | Porto to Wolves |
| 1 | Jean-Kevin Augustin | RB Leipzig to Leeds United |
While there are a handful of players who have represented both Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday, it is incredibly rare for anyone to make the move directly across the Steel City, but that is exactly what defender Max Lowe did in the summer.
Lowe spent four years at Bramall Lane, and he was part of the squad that won promotion to the Premier League in the 2022-23 season, but after being released by the Blades at the end of his contract, he opted to join their bitter rivals.
Given that United had chosen to allow Lowe to depart, his switch to Hillsborough was not greeted with the animosity it perhaps could have been in other circumstances, but the 28-year-old was still not given a particularly warm welcome when he returned to his former club with the Owls in November.
