Derby County’s roster didn’t require much improvement after a good summer window had already propelled John Eustace’s side to the fringes of the play-offs, but they’ve added here and there to boost their prospects.

A few periphery players were sold or loaned out to League One clubs, with Ebou Adams being the primary sell, but the former Derby captain was falling out of favour, and this month provided an excellent opportunity to cash in on the 30-year-old.

In terms of incomings, Oscar Fraulo strengthens the midfield, Derry Murkin is an attacking full-back who can compete with Callum Elder for a starting berth, and there’s the small matter of Sammie Szmodics on deadline day, if John Eustace doesn’t need any more former Blackburn players.

The 30-year-old may not have reached his full potential at Ipswich Town since his move from Ewood Park, but if he remains injury-free, he may play a significant role in a play-off campaign at Pride Park.

Hull City – A

Hull City enjoyed a fantastic transfer window, especially given that the Tigers were once again subject to a fee cap.

Thankfully, that restriction has been relaxed, but for the time being, Hull will be particularly pleased that they were able to bring in Toby Collyer and Lewis Koumas on loan, both of whom have obvious talent but have had terrible first half of the season elsewhere.

Furthermore, Paddy McNair and Kieran Dowell are solid Championship squad players who will only add to Sergej Jakirovic’s squad as the Tigers continue their unexpected bid for the top two.

More importantly, they were able to maintain Charlie Hughes and Oli McBurnie, while Leeds United did not recall Joe Gelhardt from his loan stay, all of whom will be essential players in a prospective promotion campaign.

Ipswich Town – A

In a copy-and-paste from Coventry and Hull’s assessments, the fact that Ipswich have been able to retain their top-flight quality players obviously suggests that it’s a very strong window.

But adding Dan Niel, Sunderland’s play-off-winning captain from last season, and Bristol City’s Mehmeti, who is one of the league’s best players, for a low amount due to the Robins’ desire to sell before his contract expires in the summer, only improves the squad.

Overall, Kieran McKenna’s window was quiet, but a low-key window might be one of the best.

Leicester City – C

An ordinary January for Leicester City, who, like Blackburn, are considering a managerial change following Marti Cifuentes’ dismissal in the final week of the window.

Leicester completed all four moves on deadline day, with Dujuan Richards and Divine Mukasa from Manchester City and Chelsea’s academies joining fellow loanee Joe Aribo from Southampton and veteran centre-back Jamal Lascelles.

Lascelles is a fine signing for a Foxes team that has struggled to keep clean sheets all season, but the others aren’t exactly eye-popping buys.

Middlesbrough – B

Middlesbrough completed the majority of their work in the early weeks of the January transfer window, bringing in some bright teenagers through the door in Leo Castledine and Finley Munroe, both of whom had shone in the EFL’s lower leagues throughout the first half of the season.

Furthermore, Jeremy Sarmiento signed late on, having previously played for Ipswich and Burnley, both of whom finished second in the Championship – if that is Middlesbrough’s goal, there aren’t many better players to sign.

In terms of departures, no one who has been a true star under Kim Hellberg has left, and, most importantly, Hayden Hackney remains at the Riverside.

Perhaps bringing in a new out-and-out striker to challenge Tommy Conway would have resulted in an A, but it was still a solid window.

Millwall – B

Another side where there weren’t many obvious flaws to address during the January window, but we still added significantly in important spots.

Millwall have been unremarkable going forward in comparison to their fellow play-off competitors, so they have looked to add creativity, and in Barry Bannan and Tommy Watson, they have two great signings at opposite ends of their respective careers, but both bring a similar level of chance creation to the table.

Anthony Patterson is a quality signing in goal, and like Watson, he has recent promotion success with Sunderland, which will help Alex Neil’s team in their continued quest to follow in the Black Cats’ footsteps and enter the Premier League.

There were no huge departures — Aidomo Emakhu had done more than his fair share for the Lions, but he was quickly replaced by the guy who scored the winning goal in last season’s play-off final, so little improvements all around.

Norwich City – B

Norwich City must find a way to let Josh Sargent to leave the club, as the American frontman’s future is clouding what has otherwise been a successful January window – something that hasn’t been linked with the Canaries in recent years.

Ali Ahmed has already looked like a top-level Championship wideman in his few outings, 21-year-old Mo Toure has impressed in the Danish top tier, and Norwich have crammed the midfield with Sam Field and Paris Maghoma.

Harry Amass’ catastrophic injury just days after joining on loan from Manchester United is a huge disappointment, but he was also a significant coup at the time, having impressed at Sheffield Wednesday despite the circumstances.

Philippe Clement has gotten a lot out of the existing crop of players at Carrow Road since his arrival, so there was no need to add anything in terms of personnel. Sargent simply needs to find his way out so that the Canaries can carry on without him.

Oxford United – B

There can’t be many complaints at Oxford United about the board’s attempts to have one final shot at staying up this season, with eight new signings this month.

Many will be looking forward to Jamie Donley’s return to the Championship after being overlooked during a loan spell at Stoke City earlier this season. Last season, he was a highlight in League One.

Brentford’s Myles Peart-Harris also appears to be a decent signing, having scored his first goal for the club against Sheffield United recently.

In terms of outgoings, no one who shone out in the first half of the season has left the Kassam Stadium, indicating that Matt Bloomfield’s side is in a better situation now than they were at the beginning of the month, which can only be a good thing.

Portsmouth – C

Portsmouth’s form has improved in recent weeks, and there is some joy around Fratton Park once more; yet, this January’s transfer market has not been particularly spectacular.

30-year-old Ebou Adams and 30-year-old Keshi Anderson are solid additions, and Adams has already proven his worth in the short time he has been with the club, but neither are classic thrilling transfers.

Also, loaning players from League One is always a mystery, as Jacob Brown and Millenic Alli were not particularly popular at Luton Town this season, while the other three additions are either relative unknowns or squad players.

A little more attacking strength left as Yang Min-Hyeok moved to Coventry and Callum Lang was sold to Preston North End, but at least the latter was recoupable.

Overall, a little window, but one that should be enough to keep Pompey in the division.

Preston North End – D

Preston have arguably fared worse during the January transfer window as a result of Harrison Armstrong’s recall to Everton. That’s ultimately not their fault, but it puts Paul Heckingbottom’s team in a terrible situation.

You can commend Deepdale’s management for throwing some money at the squad in an attempt to spark a play-off push, but breaking their transfer record on someone who has only played eight league games this season due to injury is a huge gamble.

Andrew Moran is a strong permanent signing from Brighton, and we’ll see how 20-year-old Strasbourg loanee Milos Lukovic does in the Championship.

However, Preston has had a flat January in comparison to those around them, and as a result, they may fall out of contention for the top six.

QPR – C

QPR lavished the cash on Ronnie Edwards early in the January window, then sat back and watched for the rest of it, bringing in Justin Obikwu from Coventry in the interim.

Finally, the Hoops had a busy summer window, and with a reported £4.5 million spent on bringing the former Southampton player back to Loftus Road, there wouldn’t have been much room to do anything else.

So, a very quiet month, but one that will not annoy QPR supporters too much.

Sheffield United – B

Sheffield United’s primary goal in January was to cut an excessively bloated roster, which was left to Chris Wilder when he returned for a third managerial spell in September.

Many loans were terminated, and new contracts were signed for some of the younger squad members, including Sam Curtis, Ryan One, and Louie Marsh.

Then, the focus of their deadline day was incomings, and in Leo Hjelde, Kalvin Phillips, and Joe Rothwell, the Blades addressed weak points in their squad that had been hampered by injury and availability this season.

It’s not the most visually appealing window, but more players with promotion experience have entered the club, which can’t be a bad thing for Sheffield United for the remainder of the season.

Sheffield Wednesday – F

While Sheffield Wednesday were able to sign more players than they let go during the January transfer window, the process effectively snuffed out any lingering fan enthusiasm in watching the Owls for the rest of the season.

Club legend Barry Bannan left for Millwall, while Bailey Cadamarteri, one of the club’s few surviving assets, was transferred to Wrexham.

In their stead came a slew of loan players, and hence names who will not be remaining around beyond the end of the season. Marvelous Nakamba was the only permanent signee, but despite his humorous name, he will not replace the spirit that Wednesday supporters lost when Bannan left.

The sooner this season finishes, the better for Sheffield Wednesday, as they will be able to begin over next season with guys they know will be around for the long haul.

Southampton – D

Southampton’s January transfer window has not been the most thrilling, and it may not have needed to be, given Tonda Eckert’s side’s excellent summer expenditure, which meant they did not need to improve significantly.

However, the loss of top scorer Adam Armstrong, despite the fact that he had not scored in nine Championship games, to a Wolves club that will be in the second division by August, was a big gut blow on deadline day.

Their replacement is Cyle Larin, who is on loan from Feyenoord and appears to be an uninspired signing at the age of 30 after not playing much earlier this season.

Daniel Peretz is a solid signing and an upgrade in goal, and some players who deserved to leave were shipped away, but the Saints’ roster is poorer than it was on January 1st, and so cannot be rated higher than a D.

Stoke City – B

Until Ato Ampah joined Stoke City from Chelsea on deadline day, Mark Robins’ team had three goalkeepers, three wingers, and three strikers, and the Potters had improved in all three areas.

Gavin Bazunu is an improvement over Jack Bonham. Jesurun Rak-Sakyi replaces Andre Vidigal, while Nathan Lowe has returned to Wycombe Wanderers on loan, while Stoke have signed Milan Smit on loan from Go Ahead Eagles, who has six Eredivisie goals this season.

So Mark Robins’ team received a much-needed upgrade across the board, and Ampah is an exciting young winger eager to make a difference in his first big professional move.

Stoke City had a strong January and will look to finish in the top half as a result.

Swansea City – C

There hasn’t been much movement at Swansea City in January, which suggests that Vitor Matos is still adjusting to his new surroundings and is content with what he has at his disposal.

That being said, Joel Ward is a solid veteran addition, Gustavo Nunes is a relative unknown, but it will be interesting to watch how he performs, as will Leo Walta, who is coming off a 16-goal season for Swedish club Sirius.

When you combine that with a couple of peripheral players heading out on loan, you get a rather average window.

Watford – D

Watford complete the quartet of Championship clubs seeking for a new manager at the end of the January transfer window, when Javi Gracia resigned following a 2-0 loss to Swansea.

The Spaniard added that he was “really disappointed with the level of the team and the future of the team,” which is a really pessimistic appraisal from your manager.

Having said that, the Hornets’ additions, most notably Edoardo Bove, appear to be promising, with several interesting youngsters arriving on loan with Pierre Ekwah, who previously played in the Championship with Sunderland.

Furthermore, Imran Louza kept put, which is significant following a strong first half of the season.

However, Gracia departed due to a lack of direction in the window, thus the Hornets cannot rank very high as a result.

West Bromwich Albion – C

This January has seen little change at the Hawthorns, with West Brom’s main focus being on turning around the negativity on the pitch as they battle an unlikely relegation.

Max O’Leary has been named the new first-choice goalkeeper, and other young loanees have been brought in to replace Toby Collyer and Sam Illing-Junior, who were returned to their parent clubs earlier in the window.

West Brom’s current team is more than capable of finishing in the middle of the table, at least this season. As a result, they didn’t need many reactionary purchases or loans in January.

The present pack is expected to pull the Baggies out of danger, and time will tell if they succeed.

Wrexham – A

Wrexham brought in a lot of new staff throughout the summer, so they didn’t need to add just for the sake of adding in January. The initial focus was on slimming down and releasing players who were not getting regular game time in Phil Parkinson’s side.

Several players left, reducing the fat on an already strong group that is currently competing in the playoffs. The Red Dragons then embarked on a mission to improve it in the remaining days of the window, which they more than accomplished.

Zak Vyner was one of Bristol City’s better players last season in their play-off campaign, and at the top end of the pitch, Bailey Cadamarteri is a strong prospect, and Davis Keillor-Dunn has been one of the greatest attackers in League One throughout the last 18 months.

Wrexham already had a lead in the play-off race, but they’ve received an even bigger boost in their pursuit of a fourth successive promotion.