The biggest pressure points
- Will Lankshear appears to be the headline gamble at Middlesbrough. Reports suggest a fee of £10m followed an 11-goal loan spell at Oxford United, and that price brings immediate scrutiny.
- His early cup goal may ease the noise, but the real question is whether he can turn promise into a sustained scoring run in a crowded attack.
- Ugo Raghouber looks like a classic Burnley midfield addition: young, mobile and built for control.
- The report says the 23-year-old arrived from Lille for about £4.3m after 16 appearances at Levante. His likely role is simple: win the ball, move it quickly, and give Burnley a stronger platform.
Goals, dribbles and final-third craft
- Elijah Just may be one of the division’s most interesting attacking bets. Reports credit the Swansea City recruit with 7 goals and 7 assists in 43 league games last season.
- He also appears capable of filling multiple jobs - No. 10, wide forward, even a central option - which matters in a long Championship season.
- Rafiki Said gives Wolverhampton Wanderers a direct threat from the left. The report says he posted 8 goals and 4 assists in 37 Belgian league games and ranked highly for dribbling volume.
- The only immediate concern is fitness, with a knee issue reportedly set to delay his start.
The adaptation test
- Rocco Shein seems to have been targeted by Portsmouth as a midfield organiser. Reports suggest the fee was £2.1m and that his on-ball quality is already clear.
- The bigger test will be coping without the ball in a division that punishes any softness.
- Andrei Coubis may be the least obvious name, but perhaps the most revealing. The report says Lincoln City could pay up to £2.6m for a ball-playing centre-back whose senior experience is still growing.
- Good passers at the back matter in this league, but timing, duels and concentration matter more.
That is what makes these six so watchable. Some are expected to lift promotion pushes immediately; others may define their season through adaptation. Once the first run of league fixtures settles, the fees will fade and the Championship’s only real currency will take over: impact.