Should Boro snap up Jordan Rhodes for £12m he will become the Championship’s most expensive signing for the second time in his career.
He first broke the division’s transfer record when Blackburn paid Huddersfield Town a reported £8m for his services back in 2012.
Prior to that transfer the record stood at “just” £5m when Leicester City prised Matt Mills away from Reading in 2011.
The Championship’s transfer record was smashed last season though when Fulham paid £11m for Leeds United forward Ross McCormack.
The McCormack deal was the first time that the £10m barrier had been broken by a club in England’s second tier, a milestone which was first reached in English football 19 years ago, on 30 July 1996, when Newcastle paid £15m to Blackburn Rovers for Alan Shearer.
Unsurprisingly, Championship transfer fees are relatively low when compared to the Premier League.
There have only been eight occasions where a team from the division has paid £5m or more for a player.
The aforementioned McCormack and Rhodes deals top the pile and are followed by the £5.5m that Nottingham Forest reportedly paid Peterborough for Britt Assombalonga in 2014.
The recent £5m deal that brought Stewart Downing back to Boro is joined by Cardiff’s 2014 signing of Bruno Ecuele Manga, Blackpool’s 2013 signing of Matt Phillips, Leicester’s 2011 signing of Matt Mills and Manchester City’s capture of Jamie Macken as far back as 2002.
There have also only been seven occasions where £4m or more has changed hands for a player - Derby’s 2015 capture of Tom Ince, Norwich’s 2014 signing of Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe, Charlie Austin’s move from Burnley to QPR in 2013, Michael Chopra’s move from Sunderland to Cardiff in 2009, Sheffield United’s signing of James Beattie in 2007, Gary McSheffrey’s move from Coventry to Birmingham in 2006 and Fulham’s 2001 signing of Alain Goma from PSG.
