3 of the most unexpected deals in the Championship this summer including Leeds signing

Three of the most unexpected transfer deals in the Championship this summer

The summer transfer window in England has finally closed! The Premier League has gotten underway as well, while the 2018/19 Championship campaign is already a week old.

The recently concluded transfer window never failed to deliver from an entertainment standpoint. As far as the Championship is concerned, there were some deals that took ages to complete but there were also some transfer agreements that completely came out of the blue.

Here are some examples of the unexpected deals in the Championship that have left all football fans scratching their heads in astonishment.

John McGinn (Aston Villa)

John McGinn, one of the most sought-after players in the Scottish Premier League this summer, was snapped up by Aston Villa. The BBC had reported that Celtic were interested in the 23-year-old midfielder throughout the window but out of nowhere, Villa landed the former Hibernian ace.

McGinn, the Scotland international, has moved to the Championship to join the Villans on a four-year deal. Aston Villa must aim to win promotion from the second-tier competition and manager Steve Bruce should try his best to deliver this time after missing out last season.

And McGinn would also receive a solid chance to showcase his quality at one of the biggest clubs in England. In doing so, he might even attract attention from teams in the Premier League. All in all, Villa have pulled out a rabbit from the hat by signing McGinn from Hibernian.

Barry Douglas (Leeds United)

Leeds United pulled off a coup when they signed Barry Douglas from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a fee of £3million.

Douglas made 42 appearances for Wolves last season as he helped the Midlands side win promotion to the Premier League. He was an assist machine for the Wolves the last term but now, the left wing-back is part of the Leeds’ squad, managed by the charismatic Marcelo Bielsa.

As a Leeds United player, Douglas must battle for the left-back spot and do everything to become a fan favourite at Elland Road.

Felix Passlack (Norwich City)

Borussia Dortmund full-back Felix Passlack became a Norwich City player in July, which raised a lot of eyebrows.

Passlack worked his way through Dortmund’s youth system and went onto play 21 times for the club. He extended his Dortmund contract only last summer, ahead of joining Hoffenheim on loan for two seasons.

Read more: Steve Bruce’s decision to sign this 6ft 1in defender on loan is a commendable job – agreed?

But now with Norwich, Passlack has reunited with Daniel Farke, who used to manage Dortmund’s second team. Along with Farke, a number of his coaching staff from Norwich were previously at Dortmund, and they should be well aware of Passlack’s abilities.