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Championship best buys: Bradley Johnson, Jacob Butterfield, Nathan Byrne, Richard Stearman and more

Bradley Johnson celebrates

We examine the pick of the deadline-day deals in the Championship with the help of Sky Sports' Football League expert Andy Hinchcliffe.

With Derby County further bolstering their midfield options and Wolves seeing significant players move in and out, it was a busy deadline day for several Championship clubs.

Here, our resident Football League expert talks us through some of the key deals...

Bradley Johnson (Derby)

28-year-old midfielder, signed from Norwich for an undisclosed fee

I was at the play-off final in May and you couldn't have looked at that Norwich team and said that Bradley Johnson would be surplus to requirements just a few months later. But these things happen and it's amazing what can change in a manager's mind. He wasn't a player I thought Norwich would be keen to let go. He's a left-footed player with bags of energy who brought experience and scored goals. I think he is a Premier League player.

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What Johnson gives you is that left-side balance that clubs are crying out for. There's a dearth of genuinely comfortable left-sided players and we're even seeing right-footed players at left-back. You'd think long and hard before you let someone like that go because they're worth their weight in gold. It's a great move for him and I'm sure he'll be looking to get back to the Premier League with Derby.

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Jacob Butterfield (Derby)

25-year-old midfielder, signed from Huddersfield for an undisclosed fee

It's absolutely certain that he's going to be a success – he has been already. This lad can really play.
Andy Hinchcliffe on Jacob Butterfield

I speak a lot with Steve Eyre, who's a coach at Huddersfield, and I spoke to him about Jacob Butterfield. He told me that he's one of the four best midfield players in the Championship. That speaks volumes for me because there are a lot of good players of that type. It's absolutely certain that he's going to be a success - he has been already. This lad can really play. With the chances that he creates, that's what players like Chris Martin and Darren Bent are after. Butterfield could be the man to supply that. He just needs to get regular games.

Jacob Butterfield  was the only player who created more chances than Nathan Redmond in the 2014/15 Championship
Image: Jacob Butterfield created more chances than any Championship player in 2014/15

Derby fascinate me though. I was there when they lost to Leeds and what struck me is that they've got too many players, especially for a fledgling manager like Paul Clement. He's got six centre-halves. Now he's signing two more midfielders. Okay, Will Hughes is injured but Craig Bryson and Jamie Hanson are coming back. He's got George Thorne there and Jeff Hendrick. Then you go and sign Jacob Butterfield and Bradley Johnson. How many do they need? That becomes a complication because sometimes less is more.

Nathan Byrne (Wolves)

Versatile 23-year-old, signed from Swindon for an undisclosed fee

I saw quite a bit of him at Swindon and he has scored a hat-trick this season already. This is money very well spent. I think it's a great signing. I like his versatility. He can play as an orthodox right-back but the way they play at Swindon with three centre-halves, he's played as a wing-back. He's got so much energy and he's so dynamic that it makes sense playing him further forwards. He can even play as a wide midfielder. He simply never stops. He can cross the ball and score goals.

Swindon Town's Nathan Byrne celebrates scoring his sides second goal of the game against Sheffield United during the Sky Bet League One, Play-Off Semi Fina
Image: Nathan Byrne has the versatility to fit in well at Wolves under Kenny Jackett

He'll fit in very well with the way that Wolves play. I just think he's the perfect player at the perfect club. Kenny Jackett with his philosophy of playing is very forward thinking with players like Benik Afobe and I just love watching Wolves. They've done amazingly well to get where they've got to but signing players like Byrne and taking them out of League One is the right way to go. He's 23 and has his best years ahead of him so that's a good one.

Richard Stearman (Fulham)

28-year-old defender, signed from Wolves for an undisclosed fee

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I don't know if this is the Patrick Roberts money that's become available but clearly Fulham have decided that what they went through last season isn't going to happen again. They don't want to risk that and so the players they are buying are experienced and have been around a bit. Stearman has played a lot of football and I'm a bit surprised Wolves have let him go, I always liked the type of player he was - an all-action Championship centre-half who could defend properly. A player like Stearman will help Fulham.

Richard Stearman of Wolves celebrates victory after the Sky Bet Championship match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Derby
Image: Richard Stearman has joined Fulham from Wolves on transfer deadline day

They've got players like Ross McCormack and they've got Moussa Dembele so Kit Symons is thinking that if they don't give goals away and keep it nice and tight then they've got a chance of being successful. The types of players they had, it wasn't going to work. They need to be a Championship club and get the right players in with the right experience. Once they have that, Fulham will have a much more comfortable season. If Stearman and the rest settle quickly, they could easily push on to the top six.

Liam Moore and Nathan Baker (Bristol City)

Moore signed on loan from Leicester until January; Baker on loan from Aston Villa until the end of the season

When clubs get promoted like Leicester did, I think managers are always looking to see whether they get games and there might be an opportunity to get them out on loan. Liam Moore needs to be playing regular games. He's too good not to. It's the same with Nathan Baker. I've been very impressed by him too. They're young and they're hungry and Bristol City will have a solid base with two players like that.

Image: Nathan Baker should help newly-promoted Bristol City deal with the step up

They have done some very good business and while people will say they left it late, I don't think they really had much choice. Steve Cotterill knew he needed better quality players to cope with the step up to the Championship. It's no surprise they're signing these players. It's about establishing yourself and being strong. If it's going to be a tough season, let's get players in who are proven at this level and they've managed to get two players who'll help them enormously.

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