EFL Transfer Bulletin #17 – Doughty to Millwall, Callum Paterson to MK Dons, Bolton get busy and Rotherham go Dutch

The latest done deals in the EFL, and in focus: QPR selling Charlie Kelman to Charlton and replacing him with Rumarn Burrell

The EFL Transfer Bulletin is written by Ali Maxwell, George Elek, Huw Davies, Sam Parry, Matt Watts, Craig Bradley, Ed Stratmann and Riley Roberts, with the help of the NTT20 Squad.

32 new transfers in the EFL…

Not a bad way to start the day. And the good mornings — and afternoons — just keep coming. This week’s packed:

• Wednesday: League Two Day

• Thursday: League One Day

• Friday: Even more transfers, plus a bonus 1-24 podcast extra, exclusively for paid subscribers.

If you’re looking for a season ticket to everything EFL, you are in the right place.

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Charlie Kelman (ST) - [QPR - Charlton] - Undisclosed (reported ~£3.5m)

Rumarn Burrell (ST) - [Burton - QPR] - Undisclosed (reported ~£1.2m)

If someone had told you this time last year that Charlie Kelman and Rumarn Burrell would join Championship clubs in 2025 for a combined fee in excess of £4m, you would have laughed at them. After all, Kelman had scored 18 league goals across more than 130 EFL appearances, while Burrell had just spent the 2023/24 season playing for Cove Rangers in Scottish League One. Fast-forward to today, however, and the scenario makes more sense.

Kelman scored 21 goals (only one of them a penalty) for Leyton Orient in League One last season, picking up the Golden Boot in the process. The Basildon-born American demonstrated an ability to score different types of goals from different locations, while continuing to trouble defences by running in behind and pressing from the front. Kelman swaps QPR – where he was always on the fringes, and had less than a year left on his contract – for Nathan Jones’ industrious Charlton, a team he’ll remember well from the play-off final in May.

The 23-year-old has unexpectedly brought QPR a tidy windfall, with the supposed £3.5m fee reported to have add-ons that could take it as high as £5m, and they’ve wasted no time in reinvesting some of it. Step forward, Rumarn Burrell from Burton Albion. Burrell followed up his 21-goal season in Scotland’s third tier by scoring 11 goals in just over 2150 minutes in England’s third tier. The Jamaican’s electric pace, willingness to run and finishing prowess was perfectly complemented by Jon Dadi Bodvarsson’s aerial ability and link-up play as Burton pulled off another Great Escape.

Gone are the days of Championship clubs only forking out for strikers who have a long history of scoring goals. Any kind of history of scoring goals, even at the level below, and – crucially – the potential to score a few more is enough to have second-tier clubs very, very interested. And, at 23 and 24 respectively, Kelman and Burrell have shown they can score goals at the level below and have the potential to score a few more. A successful season in the Championship could also see them fetch far bigger transfer fees for their respective new clubs in just 12 months’ time.

Do Kelman and Burrell fit the mould of the stereotypical modern Championship striker? No, not really, but they have both shown that they can be effective through the middle and as wide forwards. That versatility, combined with their pace, work rate and PFG (potential for goals), should go some way to explaining why Charlton and QPR have put their hands in their pockets.

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Championship

Eiran Cashin (CB) - [Brighton - Birmingham] - Loan