The transfer window has already shut - but Portsmouth are far from alone in not doing Championship business

The first transfer window has already ended, with Pompey mere onlookers - yet they are far from alone.

With the inception of the Club World Cup, which starts on June 15, the summer window has been brought forward by two weeks and split in two, thereby forcing its closure at 7pm on Tuesday night after just 10 days of business.

It will reopen on Monday (June 16), this time running uninterrupted until September 1, with plenty of time for clubs still to do business.

Ben Killip’s deal was announced last night, with the keeper agreeing a two-year deal after being an offered a new contract, but in terms of new faces there’s no one in the building.

Last year, it wasn’t until June 14 before the window opened, with Jordan Williams arriving at Fratton Park on the opening day, followed by Josh Murphy 11 days later, both recruited on free transfers.

42 transfers over 10 days

In terms of the first section of this summer transfer window, 42 transfers were completed during that period by teams from outside of the Premier League. That includes six different Championship clubs.

Watford and Preston each recruited two players, while Stoke, Charlton, Norwich and Blackburn have also been involved over that 10-day duration.

Of those eight signings, half (four of them) consisted of transfer fees being paid - Sorba Thomas (Stoke), Dan Grimshaw (Norwich), Thierry Small (Preston) and Dion de Neve (Blackburn).

The other half is made up of free agents in Marc Bola (Watford), Nathan Baxter (Watford), Sonny Carey (Charlton) and Pol Valentin (Preston).

Certainly compared to League One and League Two, squad strengthening in the Championship has been a lot quieter to date, with fewer than half the amount of signings in comparison.

Indeed, there have been 17 signings in each of the bottom two divisions, including the only loan deal of the transfer window so far.

That involves Huddersfield’s Tom Iorpenda moving to League Two Notts County on a season-long arrangement.

Interestingly, of the 42 transfers completed in the Football League over those 10 days, 30 have been free agents, 11 have involved fees paid and one has been a loan.

Eye-catching deals

Among those deals which catch the eye is Kal Naismith’s switch to Luton following his departure from Bristol City at the season’s end.

It will be a third Kenilworth Road spell for the former Pompey League Two title-winner, who spent 10 matches on loan there during the second half of the season, even earning man of the match in their March 1-0 win over the Blues.

Huddersfield have sold Sorba Thomas to Stoke and recruited defender Joe Lowe from Wycombe, while powerful Sheffield Wednesday central defender Michael Ihiekwe has moved to Blackpool on a free.

Recruiting from abroad

Several clubs have also delved into the foreign market, including Dion de Neve moving from Belgian club KV Kortrijk to Blackburn for an undisclosed fee.

Former Middlesbrough defender Marc Bola has left Turkish Super Lig side Samsunspor to join Watford on a free transfer, signing a three-year deal, while League One Plymouth have taken Bradley Ibrahim from Hertha Berlin for an undisclosed fee.

With the shutters having gone back up on the transfer window for now, there clearly won’t be any business at Fratton Park until Monday at the very earliest.

And with 18 Championship clubs still to dip their toe in the water, Pompey are certainly not an outlier.

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