Championship Preview
Barnsley:
Barnsley managed to survive relegation last season, but they will need to score more goals this season as they only managed to score 49 in 46 games last season, with only Middlesbrough scoring fewer. They have signed Michal Helik and Dominic Frieser. They have also resigned Kilian Ludewig on loan after he spent last season at the club. Isaac Christie-Davies has signed on a three-year deal with the club. Barnsley will be aiming to avoid relegation once again.
Birmingham City:
Birmingham have seen Jude Bellingham leave to join Borussia Dortmund. Birmingham have signed defenders George Friend and Wes Harding. They have signed Jon Toral and Ivan Sanchez. Jonathan Leko and Adam Clayton have signed on permanent deals. They have signed goalkeepers Andres Prieto and Neil Etheridge. Birmingham have a new manager in charge with Aitor Karanka and will be looking to make sure they are not in a relegation battle
Bournemouth:
They were relegated from the Premier League and have seen Eddie Howe depart as manager. Jason Tindall has moved up from assistant manager to the managerial role. They have seen Callum Wilson depart to Newcastle where Ryan Fraser has also signed. They may lose other players with Josh King being linked to the Premier League. They have seen Nathan Ake join Manchester City and Aaron Ramsdale has joined Sheffield United. Simon Francis and Andrew Surman have both left. They will need to make some additions to do well in the Championship because as it stands, they will struggle to be near the play-offs.
Blackburn Rovers:
Blackburn have not done too much business over the summer. They have signed goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski. Blackburn finished in 11th last season and this season they will probably be heading for the same unless they make a few more additions to their side.
Brentford:
Brentford were close to being promoted automatically and then they lost the play-off final to Fulham. They will move into a new stadium after leaving Griffin Park. They have lost Ollie Watkins who was the second highest scorer in the league, but he has joined Aston Villa. Brentford were the highest scorers in the league last season with 80 goals scored in 46 games and they conceded 38 with only Leeds conceding fewer. They have signed Ivan Toney for £10 million from Peterborough and defender Charlie Goode has joined from Northampton Town. If they can keep some of their key players from last season, then Brentford will be near the promotion spots again.
Bristol City:
The new season will see Dean Holden take the reins as manager. Bristol City will want to improve on falling short of the plays-off last year. They have signed Chris Martin and Alfie Mawson has joined on a season long loan deal. Chris Brunt has signed on a one-year deal and Steven Sessegnon has joined on a season long loan deal. Joe Williams has signed from Wigan. Bristol City will be aiming for the play-offs.
Cardiff City:
Cardiff lost in the play-off semi finals to Fulham. Neil Harris will be aiming to get to the play-offs once again. They signed Kieffer Moore from Wigan. Jordi Osei-Tutu has joined on a season long loan deal. Sheyi Ojo has also joined on a loan deal. Cardiff have seen Mendez-Laing depart after his contract was terminated. Cardiff will be looking to make a few more additions and they should be near the play-off places.
Coventry City:
Coventry were promoted and will be hoping to avoid relegation this season. Gustavo Hamer signed from NEC Zwolle and Conor O’Hare has signed from Aston Villa on a permanent deal. Marcel Hilssner has signed from Paderborn and Ryan Giles has re-joined on a season long loan deal. Ben Sheaf and Leo Ostigard have joined on season long loan deals. Tyler Walker has signed for an undisclosed fee from Nottingham Forest. Mark Robins is a good manager and that will play a part in guiding Coventry to safety.
Derby County:
Derby will be aiming to reach the play-offs this season. They have lost Max Lowe and Jayden Bogle to Sheffield United. Nathan Byrne has joined from Wigan and Matt Clarke has re-joined on another season long loan deal. Goalkeeper David Marshall has also joined from Wigan. Derby will be hopeful of a good season with the quality of Wayne Rooney and some decent younger players, they will be in the top half at the very least.
Huddersfield Town:
Huddersfield sacked Danny Cowley before the end of last season and have replaced him with Carlos Coberán who was under 23 manager and first team coach at Leeds. Huddersfield will be wanting to improve on last season when they finished 18th. They will need to be better in the final third where they scored 52 goals last season in the league, which was the fourth fewest. Huddersfield have signed Danny Ward and Joel Pereira has joined on a season long loan deal. They have also signed Pipa. Huddersfield are team that are hard to predict because if the new manager does not work out it may be a poor season.
Luton Town:
Luton pulled off an amazing escape to avoid the drop last season after Nathan Jones returned to the club as manager. This season they will want to avoid relegation more easily. Luton will need to improve defensively as they conceded 82 goals last season. Jordan Clark has signed for the club. James Bree and Tom Lockyer have both joined the club. Rhys Norrington-Davies has signed on a season long loan deal from Sheffield United.
Middlesbrough:
Neil Warnock has continued as manager after initially joining on a short-term deal. Warnock managed to keep Middlesbrough up and this season he will want them to be more effective in front of goal as they scored the least amount of goals of any team. Grant Hall has signed on a free transfer. Marcus Bettinelli has signed on a season long loan deal from Fulham. Middlesbrough have an experienced manager in Warnock and they will be safe and near mid table.
Millwall:
Millwall finished just two points of a play-off place and they will be hoping to maintain that position and to see if they can get in the play-offs this campaign. Ryan Woods has signed a one season long loan deal and Troy Parrott has signed on a season long loan deal. Scott Malone has signed on a season long loan deal and Mason Bennett has signed on a permanent deal.
Norwich City:
Norwich will hope to keep some key players after they lost Jamal Lewis who joined Newcastle. Oliver Skipp has signed on loan from Tottenham. Xavi Quintilla joins on a season long loan deal and Jordan Hugill joins from West Ham in a deal that could be worth £5 million. Ben Gibson has signed on a loan deal from Burnley and that will become permanent if the Canaries get promotion this season. Daniel Farke won promotion with Norwich in 2018-19 and Norwich will be up near the top if they can keep the bulk of their squad.
Nottingham Forest:
Jack Colback has signed on a free transfer and Lyle Taylor has also joined the club. Tyler Blackett has joined after leaving Reading. Nottingham Forest have also signed Fouad Bachirou from Malmo and Luke Freeman has joined on loan from Sheffield United. Matty Cash has left as he has joined Aston Villa. Though, Forest have brough a striker Miguel Angel Guerrero from Olympiakos. Though the season ended poorly, Sabri Lamouchi had a largely successful first season at Nottingham Forest and the play-offs will be the aim.
Preston North End:
Preston finished 9th last season and were four points outside the play-offs. The summer has seen little signings, though they have secured new contracts for current players in the form of Paul Gallagher, Sean Maguire, Ryan Ledson and Josh Harrop. The stable squad should be enough to be mid table and with additions they may trouble the play-offs.
Queens Park Rangers:
QPR were poor defensively as they conceded 76 in 46 games last season, although they were the fifth highest scorers in the league. They have lost Eberechi Eze, who has joined Crystal Palace and that will be a big miss for QPR. They have signed Lyndon Dykes, who has joined from Livingston and scored 11 goals in 28 appearances for the Scottish side. QPR have also brought in Luke Amos from Spurs and Rob Dickie from Oxford. George Thomas and Tom Carroll have both joined on a permanent basis. QPR may have a better squad than last year and that might lead to a top half finish.
Reading:
Mark Bowen has been replaced as manager by Veljko Paunović, who has previously managed Chicago Fire in the MLS. Reading have signed Josh Laurent and Ovie Ejaria. They will want to make a few more additions to improve on last season.
Rotherham United:
Rotherham were promoted and will be hoping to avoid relegation. They have signed Mickel Miller. They have signed Jamal Blackman on a season long loan deal, and Kieran Sadlier signed after leaving Doncaster. Defenders Angus McDonald and Wes Harding have also signed for the club. If Rotherham stay in the league, then that will be a successful season for the club.
Sheffield Wednesday:
Sheffield Wednesday will start the season on minus 12 points after they found to have broke spending rules. They have signed Chey Dunkley from Wigan. Izzy Brown has joined on loan from Chelsea. They have also signed Josh Windass and Elias Kachunga. Garry Monk will do well to guide his team to safety with the points deduction.
Stoke City:
Stoke will be aiming to get the play-offs this season and they have signed Morgan Fox and John Obi Mikel. They have also signed Steven Fletcher who left Sheffield Wednesday. Defender James Chester has joined, and Jacob Brown has signed from Barnsley. Michael O’Neill will start his first full season in charge of the club after he became manager during last season. Stoke will be aiming to be in the play-offs come the end of the season.
Swansea City:
They lost in the play-off semi finals to Brentford, and they will want to reach the play-offs at least this season. Korey Smith has signed, and Freddie Woodman has re-joined on loan from Newcastle. Morgan Gibbs-White has also joined on loan. Jamal Lowe has signed from Wigan. Swansea have seen players depart such as Bersant Celina and will be hoping Matt Grimes does not leave.
Watford:
Watford will be looking to get promoted at the first attempt after their relegation from the Premier League. They have appointed a new manager in Vladimir Ivić. They have signed Jeremy Ngakia from West Ham. They have also signed Glenn Murray on loan from Brighton. They have seen Abdoulaye Doucoure leave. They have signed Stipe Perica and Francisco Sierralta.
Wycombe Wanderers:
Wycombe were promoted from League One. They have made numerous signings with Jason McCarthy and Ryan Tafazolli signing. Goalkeeper Curtis Anderson has signed. Daryl Horgan and Uche Ikpeazu have also signed for the club. Giles Phillips and David Stockdale are other additions. Gareth Ainsworth will be aiming to escape relegation.
