With the transfer window open for business and several signings having been made by Championship clubs already, we are assessing how each club in the second tier is performing to this point.
In the third part of our four-part series, we look at the fortunes of the next six clubs - Leeds United, Middlesbrough, Millwall, Norwich City, Nottingham Forest and Reading - as the 2014/2015 season inches closer.
Leeds United:
In: Stuart Taylor (Reading - Free), Marco Silvestri (Chievo Verona - Free), Tommaso Bianchi (Sassuolo - Free).
Out: Lee Peltier (Huddersfield Town - Free), Paul Green (Rotherham United - Free), Luke Varney (Blackburn Rovers - Free), Ross McCormack (Fulham - £11m), Michael Brown, El-Hadji Diouf, Danny Pugh, Jamie Ashdown, Adam Drury, Simon Lenighan, Nathan Turner, Lewis Turner, Richard Bryan, Smith Tiesse, Gboly Ariyibi, Marius Zaliukas (All released).
Plan: Reinvest the money given to them by the sale of star striker Ross McCormack, who has joined Fulham for a staggering £11m fee. That gives new manager Dave Hockaday plenty of funds to work with, but the interference of owner Massimo Cellino could see Leeds target a host of Italian players to bolster the ranks.
The new manager's most pressing needs are at the back and obviously up front, with a replacement for McCormack likely to take up the biggest chunk of the transfer budget.
Reported targets: Jonathan Rossini, Souleymane Doukara - The former, a Swiss-born central defender, is reportedly close to sealing a move while the latter is also currently plying his trade in Italy with Catania and could be one of the forwards the Whites look to bring in to replace McCormack.
Prospects: Expect the McCormack money to be reinvested. Doukara is reportedly close to signing but Leeds may need more than just the solitary striking addition if Matt Smith moves to Millwall. The Italian market will be raided at least once or twice more.
Middlesbrough:
In: Tomas Mejias (Real Madrid Castilla - Free).
Out: Matthew Dolan (Bradford City - Free), Jayson Leutwiler (Shrewsbury Town - Free), Stuart Parnaby (Hartlepool United - Free), Frazer Richardson (Rotherham United - Free), Marvin Emnes (Swansea City - Undisclosed), Lewis Sirrell, Birger Meling, Jake Fowler, Cameron Park, Matthew Waters (All released).
Plan: Bringing back some of the loan players that succeeded during their time on Teesside, with Aitor Karanka keen to build a settled squad at the Riverside Stadium. They may be well-stocked enough in goal and in midfield but defensive and offensive additions are a must.
Reported targets: Adam Clayton, Juanfran, Kenneth Omeruo, Jelle Vossen, Danny Graham - Clearly Middlesbrough's main aim in the window is to secure a proven striker at this level and Graham fits the bill. Boro have also had a bid turned down for Huddersfield Town's Adam Clayton but are confident of bringing back the popular Kenneth Omeruo from Chelsea.
Prospects: Much could depend on whether they can garner significant funds from the potential sale of Lukas Jutkiewicz, but expect Omeruo and Graham to get done. Jelle Vossen's price tag could prove beyond Boro's reach but they are firmly in the hunt for Clayton.
Millwall:
In: Carlos Edwards (Ipswich Town - Free), Lee Gregory (FC Halifax Town - Undisclosed), Byron Webster (Yeovil Town - Free).
Out: Liam Trotter (Bolton Wanderers - Free), Liam Feeney (Bolton Wanderers - Free), Shane Lowry, Jack Smith, Andy Keogh (All released).
Plan: Ian Holloway will be quietly content with the early transfer business he has been able to conduct, even if he missed out the signing of Sam Hutchinson, who opted for a switch to Sheffield Wednesday.
The Lions' squad seems settled and they have had none of their main players snatched away, with Holloway accepting the respective departures of Liam Trotter and Liam Feeney. The idea is to get a powerful presence up front and possibly strengthen in defence with one more.
Reported targets: Glenn Murray, Chris Wood - Both appear unrealistic targets but they have been mentioned in the gossip columns in recent months, with the former most closely fitting the bill for former Crystal Palace manager Holloway.
Prospects: Expect Holloway to make the right signings and make the Lions competitive next season. They look to have good numbers in most areas but need a sprinkling of star quality to move up the division.
Norwich City:
In: Lewis Grabban (Bournemouth - Undisclosed), Kyle Lafferty (Palermo - Undisclosed).
Out: Robert Snodgrass (Hull City - £7m), Harry Barker, Ewan McNeil, Carlo Nash, Roderick Young (All released).
Plan: To earn an immediate promotion back to the Premier League. And if they can retain the core to their team as it stands, they will have as good a chance as any in the division. They will be braced for interest in many of their players that said, not least John Ruddy, Martin Olsson, Leroy Fer, Nathan Redmond and Gary Hooper.
Reported targets: Very few currently - It seems as if the Canaries will wait to see who, if any, heads out the exit door and joins Robert Snodgrass elsewhere, with the Scot choosing to move to Hull City in a rumoured £7m deal.
Prospects: Expect midfield to be the primary area for exits and additions with plenty of talent set to be cherry-picked but, armed with parachute payments and the £7m pocketed from Snodgrass' sale, they have serious money to play with.
Nottingham Forest:
In: Danny Fox (Southampton - Free), Matt Fryatt (Hull City - Free), Lars Veldwijk (Excelsior - Undisclosed), Louis Laing (Sunderland - Free).
Out: Matt Derbyshire (Rotherham United - Free), Guy Moussi, Jonathan Greening, Simon Gillett, Gonzalo Jara, Marcus Tudgay, Ishmael Miller (All released).
Plan: To trim the strikeforce they currently have at their disposal before possibly adding one more of a versatile style. The side is top-heavy both in defence and up front after the arrivals of Danny Fox and Louis Laing at the back and Matt Fryatt and Lars Veldwijk in attack.
Expect new Forest manager Stuart Pearce to now move for midfielders and possibly another forward to finalise his first-team squad but Forest are already looking strong for a play-off push at the minimum next term.
Reported targets: Quiet at the City Ground for the moment - It is possible that Pearce will wait to see whether a serious enough bid comes in for academy graduates Karl Darlow and Jamaal Lascelles before pressing on with his recruitment drive.
Prospects: They have a big enough budget to work with and have made it clear a forward is still on the agenda. A mass clearout could be on the cards before any new arrivals come in.
Reading:
In: N/A
Out: Adam Le Fondre (Cardiff City - Undisclosed), Daniel Carrico (Sevilla - Undisclosed), Stuart Taylor (Leeds - Free), Wayne Bridge, Jobi McAnuff, Mikele Leigertwood, Kaspars Gorkss (All released).
Plan: There is no plan in place until the club's proposed takeover is completed. Once that takes effect, the Royals will have to make a play in the market after losing several first-teamers during the close season.
Reported targets: None. As aforementioned, it has been a difficult summer thus far for Nigel Adkins, who will have to wait for the takeover to be ratified before he can begin to plan for any incoming deals and what sort of budget he will be handed.
Prospects: Royston Drenthe looks to be on his way out of the club, making new midfielders a key part of Adkins' summer plans. Strikers will also be fundamental, with Adam Le Fondre's replacement needing to be identified to partner Pavel Pogrebnyak while another central defender, ideally one that could operate at left-back, would strengthen the Royals' backline.
Palpable fears also remain over the futures of goalkeeper Alex McCarthy and Garath McCleary, who Adkins is desperate to keep.
Part one of our Championship transfer progress report - click here to see how Town's rivals are faring this summer
Part two of our Championship transfer progress report - click here to see how Town's rivals are faring this summer
Click here for more Huddersfield Town news
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