Transfer news and opinion as Stoke City are busiest club in the Championship in summer window

Stoke City’s summer recruitment strategy is in sharp contrast to Middlesbrough, says Championship pundit Jobi McAnuff – and he leaves little doubt which one he’d prefer.

Stoke manager Alex Neil has overseen a major overhaul of his playing squad this summer, bringing in 11 players and counting after five years in the bottom half and three years of stripping back and walking a Financial Fair Play tightrope.

The situation at Middlesbrough didn’t seem quite so urgent, having reached the play-off semi-finals last season – but Michael Carrick’s form was largely built around astute loan signings such as Ryan Giles, Aaron Ramsey and Cameron Archer and this week they have lost talisman Chuba Akpom too, to Ajax.

The signings so far, barring QPR keeper Seny Dieng, have largely been unproven in the Championship, such as Emmanuel Latte Lath, the Atalanta striker who spent last season on loan at St Gallen and is tasked with filling Akpom’s boots.

McAnuff said on this week’s BBC’s 72+ podcast: “It’s heavy, heavy blow for Middlesbrough. I’ve seen them on a couple of occasions (this season) and they are light years behind where they were last year. They are missing Cameron Archer as well. Ryan Giles went back. They are nowhere near what they were and I think this could be an absolutely huge, huge blow for Middlesbrough.”

He added: “(Lath) has not done it in the Championship. If I’m Michael Carrick after last year with the players that were departing because they were on loan and it’s difficult to get them back, I’m banging the chairman’s door down saying, ‘Give me an opportunity to go and recreate what I have done.’

“When you look at some other teams around the league, Stoke for example – even Birmingham City this summer have had a really good recruitment strategy, teams at the top end of the table who Middlesbrough are going to be competing against – they’ve gone out and got players who we absolutely know are going to come in and deliver.

“When you look at Middlesbrough’s recruitment, it is the complete opposite. It is a bit of hope and maybe a bit of potential but that doesn’t get you promoted. I think Michael Carrick will be sat there very disappointed with the transfer activity so far.”

How recruitment compares

Middlesbrough

In: Alex Gilbert [Brentford – Middlesbrough] Free, Terrell Agyemang [Manchester City – Middlesbrough] Free, Seny Dieng [QPR – Middlesbrough] Undisclosed, Tom Glover [Melbourne City – Middlesbrough] Free, Morgan Rogers [Manchester City – Middlesbrough] Undisclosed, Rav van den Berg [PEC Zwolle – Middlesbrough] Undisclosed, Sam Silvera [Central Coast Mariners – Middlesbrough] Undisclosed, Jamie Jones [Wigan Athletic – Middlesbrough] Free, Emmanuel Latte Lath [Atalanta – Middlesbrough] Undisclosed.

In: Enda Stevens [Sheff Utd – Stoke] Free, Daniel Johnson [Preston – Stoke] Free, Ben Pearson [Bournemouth – Stoke] Undisclosed, Michael Rose [Coventry – Stoke] Free, Ki-Jana Hoever [Wolves – Stoke] Loan, Chiquinho [Wolves – Stoke] Loan, Wesley [Aston Villa – Stoke] Undisclosed, Mark Travers [Bournemouth – Stoke] Loan, Andre Vidigal [Maritimo – Stoke] Undisclosed, Luke McNally [Burnley – Stoke] Loan, Ryan Mmaee [Ferencvaros – Stoke] Undisclosed.

Birmingham City

In: Krystian Bielik [Derby – Birmingham], Ethan Laird [Man Utd – Birmingham] Undisclosed, Tyler Roberts [Leeds – Birmingham] Undisclosed, Siriki Dembele [Bournemouth – Birmingham] Undisclosed, Dion Sanderson [Wolves – Birmingham] Undisclosed, Keshi Anderson [Blackpool – Birmingham City] Free, Lee Buchanan [Werder Bremen – Birmingham] Undisclosed, Koji Miyoshi [Royal Antwerp – Birmingham] Undisclosed.