Championship net transfer spend league table for past five seasons including Bristol City, Sunderland and

The summer transfer window is set to open for Bristol City and their 23 Championship rivals this Friday.

The Robins have already got some of their business done early by signing Oxford United’s Mark Sykes and Kal Naismith from Luton Town on a free transfer. Midfielder Kasey Palmer meanwhile is expected to depart for Coventry City.

City’s two incomings have come at no cost other than wages and a signing-on-fee in what is sure to be the theme of the summer with Nigel Pearson mainly in the market for free transfers.

It is to be expected with the club navigating their way through record losses and the rules of Financial Fair Play.

For other clubs, namely the teams relegated from the Premier League; Burnley, Norwich City and Watford, they will be afforded parachute payments and can manoeuvre a bit more freely in the market.

It’s then a whole different ball game for the promoted teams with Wigan Athletic, Rotherham United and the returning Sunderland who would have had pennies for their success from League One last year.

There is still an uncertainty on whether we’ll see big fees with this being the first summer of a season that welcomed fans back in their entirety. Over the past five years, some clubs have splashed the cash in pursuit of success whereas others have had to be astute in who they buy.

Here are all 24 Championship clubs ranked by their net spend over the past five seasons (according to statistics from Transfermarkt), from most profitable to least:

City’s two incomings have come at no cost other than wages and a signing-on-fee in what is sure to be the theme of the summer with Nigel Pearson mainly in the market for free transfers.