Championship Spotlight: My Top Five Signings So Far

With the new Championship season kicking off this evening, I have chosen my top 5 signings of the transfer window so far.

1. Ross McCormack - Aston Villa

Aston Villa completed the signing of star striker Ross McCormack for a £12m fee on Thursday morning. A proven goalscorer at this level, the Scotland international scored 21 goals for Fulham last season. Aston Villa fans have been crying out for a goalscorer to be signed this season and I can't think of many better at this level. He's a striker that very much does his own thing, but when given the freedom to do so can really dictate a game from the front.

2. Matt Ritchie - Newcastle

Matt Ritchie is a class act at Championship level - the 26 year old winger scored 15 goals for Bournemouth in their promotion winning campaign in 2014-15. He is hard working, skillful and has an eye for the spectacular. It is never a bad thing to have players in the dressing who have experienced promotion to the Premier League before and I think it will really help the team as they aim to bounce straight back up at the first time of asking.

3. Mohamed Diamé - Newcastle

Speaking of adding experience of promotion; Mohamed Diamé was a key figure in Hull City's promotion last season, the midfield powerhouse making 38 appearances and scoring nine goals. I like to think of Diamé as the Yaya Toure of the Championship and Newcastle have pulled off an amazing bit of business to convince him to move back down to the second tier.

4. Jesus Gamez - Newcastle

It was a big shock when Jesus Gamez left Champions League finalists Atletico Madrid to join Newcastle in the Championship. The experienced 31 year old is comfortable on each flank and will be hoping to sure up last season's leaky defence. He was keen to link up with fellow Spaniard Benitez and views the Newcastle project as 'exciting'.

5. Oliver Norwood - Brighton

This will be a controversial one among many Reading fans. Some love him, some hate him and some just want to see him as far away from a corner flag as possible. Personally, I am a big fan of his (leaving comments aside) and I think it will be a great signing for Brighton on what I assume is a fee for around £2m considering his contract was up at the end of the season. He has great vision, wonderful technique and is improving defensively season on season, not to mention the fact he created the second most goal scoring opportunities in the Championship last season.

Agree with LoyalRoyal106? Let us know who you think has done the best business in the Championship this summer in the comments below.