Championship clubs have been splashing their money on players, particularly in recent years as the value for players goes up.
But what about the players right at the top, how have they get on?
Well, we decided to grade the most expensive Championship signings ever, according to Transfermarkt, and see how well they did.
When he arrived from Benfica in 2018, Nottingham Forest fans had such high expectations for the Portuguese playmaker.
For the first six months, things look promising for Carvalho under Aitor Karanka as he scored goals and eight assists, even being pivotal in a 3-2 victory against Stoke.
However, when Martin O’Neill to charge of Forest, the Portuguese midfielder quickly fell out of favour as he didn’t fit the system his new boss wished to play.
A loan to Spanish club UD Almeria followed in 2020 before being sold to Olympiacos for an undisclosed fee.
What looked like the next star man for Nottingham Forest quickly unravelled into an overall flop, however we can never forget the first six months where things seemed so perfect.
When Middlesborough returned to the Championship after their single season in the Premier League, the club made their intentions of returning clear when they splashed big money on a new star striker.
The club signed Britt Assombalonga for a club record £17 million pound, and on paper this was promising.
After returning from a year-long knee injury, the Congolese striker bagged 14 goals for Nottingham Forest in the prior season.
However, he was never the star man Middleborough would’ve hoped he would become for the fee he became.
While there was a steady consistency to his goals, he never lived up to the hype, before ultimately leaving on a free to Turkish side Adana Demirspor in 2021.
Wolves’ owner Jorge Mendes had a large impact in bringing many Portuguese players to the Molineux, however hardly any of them were a better success than Ruben Neves.
At the time, a captain of a Champions League side moving to the Championship was game-changing, and it worked perfectly for Wolves.
Neves was a key figure as the club made it back to the Premier League, and was an ever present figure as the club made it the Europa League quarter-finals in the 2019/20 season.
The club later sold the midfielder to Al-Hilal for £55 million in the 2023/24 season, making a £37 million profit.
Ruben Neves’ time at Wolves was a massive success, and being able to make that much profit is a perfect example of how spending big in the Championship can work.
While Neves was an example of how spending big can succeed, Mike Tresor is an example of how spending big can fail.
Burnley spent £18 million on the Belgian midfielder after an initial loan spell in the 23/24 season.
However, upon his first season in the Championship, Tresor played just one game, that being an FA Cup fixture against Reading.
Persistent injuries kept the Belgian out of the squad as he failed to make an impact.
As for this season, Tresor has made six appearances, but has never been the player his price tag would suggest.
It’s unclear why Burnley chose to sign the midfielder after his initial loan, as he didn’t register a single goal contribution in that season
The most expensive signing in Championship history came this season when Ipswich Town signed Norwegian Sindre Walle Egeli from Nordsajelland.
The 19-year-old’s start to life in English football has been a mixed bag so far.
He has struggled to become a regular starter so far, and has only contributed six goal contributions in 26 games.
Whilst he has not yet lived up to his £20 million price tag, it is far too early to judge this transfer just yet, as the Norwegian youngster still has a lot of developing to do.
However, some may argue that for his large price tag, he should have made an instant impact for Ipswich.
