The Coca-Cola Championship kicks-off in just five days time with Blues locking horns with Sheffield United at St. Andrew's in front of the Sky Television cameras.

Here's a look at the movers and shakers over a busy summer period. 

While Blues boss Alex McLeish has moved to strengthen his squad with the acquisitions of experienced midfielder Lee Carsley, on a free transfer from Everton, AZ Alkmaar star Kemy Agustien, West Brom striker Kevin Phillips and another hitman in the form of Marcus Bent, from Charlton.

Paul Jewell's relegated Derby County have been the busiest shoppers in the transfer market, with a huge summer clear-out making way for eleven new faces at Pride Park, the pick of which are striker Rob Hulse, a £1.75 million capture from Sheffield United and Watford duo Nathan Ellington and Jordan Stewart.

Newly promoted Nottingham Forest have signalled their intentions to become an instant force in the Championship by splashing out £2.65 million on Derby's Welsh international Robert Earshaw, while also snapping-up veteran former Blues loanee Andy Cole from Sunderland on a free. 

The latest promising youngster off the Crewe Alexandra converyorbelt, striker Nicky Maynard, has joined Bristol City for £2.25 million, Barnsley have paid Leicester £1.2 million for striker Iain Hume and Coventry have completed a deal for Wolves' Freddy Eastwood for the same figure.

Scunthorpe's marksman Martin Paterson has joined Burnley for £1 million while new QPR boss Iain Dowie has used the loan market to good effect by scouring the continent for youngter Samuel Di Carmine, from Italian giants Fiorentina, Genoa's Argentine ace Emmanuel Jorge Ledesema, as well as prospect Daniel Parejo from Real Madrid.

Barnsley

Manager: Simon Davey
07/08 Position: 18th

IN: Luke Steele (West Brom, free), Iain Hume (Leicester, £1.25m), Mounir El Haimour (NE Xamax, undisclosed), Hugo Roberto Colace (Newell's Old Boys, free), Darren Moore (Derby, free)
OUT: Kim Christensen (released), Paul Reid (Colchester, free)
EX-BLUES: None

Blackpool

Manager: Simon Grayson
07/08 Position: 19th

IN: Marlon Broomes (Stoke, free), Matthew Gilks (Norwich, part-exchange), Alex Baptiste (Mansfield, undisclosed), Joe Martin (Tottenham, undisclosed), Steve Kabba (Watford, loan), Daniel Nardiello (QPR, free), Zesh Rehman (QPR, loan), Adam Hammill (Liverpool, loan), Jermaine Wright (Southampton, free)
OUT: Wes Hoolahan (Norwich City, undisclosed), Michael Jackson (Shrewsbury, free), Keigan Parker (Huddersfield, free), Marcus Bean (Brentford, free), John Hills, Paul Tierney, Phil Doughty, Andy Welsh, Lewis Edge, Michael Flynn, Matt Lawlor, Phil Marsh (Released)
EX-BLUES: None

Bristol City

Manager; Gary Johnson
07/08 Position: 4th

IN: Gavin Williams (Ipswich, undisclosed), Nicky Maynard (Crewe, £2.25m)
OUT: Alex Russell (Cheltenham, free), Darren Byfield (Doncaster, free), Enoch Showunmi (Leeds, free), Martin Slocombe (Released)
EX-BLUES: Dele Adebola

Burnley

Manager: Owen Coyle
07/08 Position: 13th

IN: Martin Paterson (Scunthorpe, £1m), Kevin McDonald (Dundee, £300,000), Diego Penny (Coronel Bolognesi, free), Christian Kalvenes (Dundee Utd, free), Chris Eagles (Man Utd, undisclosed), Remco Van der Schaff (Vitesse, free)
OUT: Kyle Lafferty (Rangers, £3m), John Spicer (Doncaster, free), James O'Connor (Sheff Wed, free), Jon Harley (Watford, free)
EX-BLUES: Robbie Blake

Cardiff City

Manager: Dave Jones
07/08 Position: 12th

IN: Tom Heaton (Man Utd, loan), Darren Dennehy (Everton, free), Ross McCormack (Motherwell, free), Mark Kennedy (Crystal Palace, free)
OUT: Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal, £5m), David Forde (Millwall, free), Michael Oakes, Matt Green, Matt Smith, Trevor Sinclair (Released), Warren Feeney (Dundee Utd, loan), Willo Flood (Dundee Utd, loan)
EX-BLUES: Tony Capaldi, Darren Purse

Charlton Athletic

Manager: Alan Pardew
07/08 Position: 11th

IN: Stuart Fleetwood (Forest Green, tribunal), Mark Hudson (Crystal Palace, free)
OUT: Osei Sankofa (Southend, free), Patrick McCarthy (Crystal Palace, undisclosed), James Walker (Southend, free), Chris Powell (Released), Madjid Bougherra (Rangers, £2.5m), Marcus Bent (Birmingham City, undisclosed), Chris Iwelumo (Wolves, undisclosed), Darren Randolph (Hereford, loan)
EX-BLUES: None

Coventry City

Manager: Chris Coleman
07/08 Position: 21st

IN: Keiren Westwood (Carlisle, £500,000), Guillaume Beuzelin (Hibernian, free), Aron Gunnarsson (AZ Alkmaar (free), Freddy Eastwood (Wolves, £1.2m)
OUT: David McNamee (Plymouth, free), Liam Davis (Northampton, free), Colin Hawkins (Brighton, free), Stephen Hughes (Walsall, free), Michael Hughes, Arjan de Zeeuw, Ellery Cairo (released)
EX-BLUES: Julian Gray

Crystal Palace

Manager: Neil Warnock
07/08 Position: 5th

IN: Patrick McCarthy (Charlton, undisclosed), Nick Carle (Bristol City, undisclosed), Johannes Ertl (Austria Vienna, undisclosed), Darryl Flahavan (Southend, free), Jose Fonte (Benfica, undisclosed), Simon Thomas (Boreham Wood, undisclosed)
OUT: Lewwis Spence (Wycombe, free), Mark Hudson (Charlton, free), Jeff Hughes (Bristol Rovers, undisclosed), Ryan Hall, Ben Kudjodji, Moses Swaibu, Aaron Fray, Mark Kennedy (Cardiff, free), Tony Craig (Millwall, undisclosed)
EX-BLUES: Clinton Morrison, Neil Danns

Derby County

Manager: Paul Jewell
07/08 Position: 20th (Premier League)

IN: Steve Davis (Tranmere, tribunal), Kris Commons (Nottingham Forest, free), Nathan Ellington (Watford, loan), Paul Green (Doncaster, free), Jordan Stewart (Watford, free), Paul Connolly (Plymouth, free), Ruben Zadkovich (unattached, free), Martin Albrechtsen (West Brom, free), Liam Dickinson (Stockport, £750,000), Rob Hulse (Sheff Utd, £1.75m), Przemyslaw Kazmierczak (FC Porto, loan)
OUT: Robert Earnshaw (Nottingham Forest, £2.65m) Kenny Miller (Rangers, £2m), David Jones (Wolves, undisclosed), Lee Holmes (Southampton, free), Michael Johnson (Notts County, free), Marc Edworthy, Ben Hinchliffe (Released), Darren Moore (Barnsley, free), Craig Fagan (Hull City, £750,000), Jason Beardsley (Notts County, loan)
EX-BLUES: Robbie Savage

Doncaster Rovers

Manager: Sean O'Driscoll
07/08 Position: 3rd (League One)

IN: John Spicer (Burnley, free), Matthew Mills (Man City, £300,000), Jos Van Nieuwstadt (unattached, free), Darren Byfield (Bristol City, free)
OUT: Graeme Lee, Matthew Noble (released), Paul Green (Derby, free), Mark McCammon (Gillingham, free), Stephen Roberts (Walsall, free)
EX-BLUES: None

Ipswich Town

Manager: Jim Magilton
07/08 Position: 8th

IN: Gareth McAuley (Leicester, undisclosed), Pim Balkestein (Heerenveen, undisclosed), Richard Wright (West Ham, undisclosed), Kevin Lisbie (Colchester, undisclosed)
OUT: Gavin Williams (Bristol City, undisclosed), Sylvain Legwinski, Fabian Wilnis, Sito (Released), Gary Roberts (Huddersfield, undisclosed)
EX-BLUES: Alex Bruce

Norwich City

Manager: Glenn Roeder
07/08 Position: 17th

IN: Sammy Clinigan (Nottingham Forest, free), Wes Hoolahan (Blackpool, undisclosed), David Bell (Luton, undisclosed), Arturo Lupoli (Fiorentina, loan), Elliot Omozusi (Fulham, loan), Dejan Stefanovic (Fulham, undisclosed), Ryan Bertrand (Chelsea, loan)
OUT: Matthew Gilks (Blackpool, part-exchange), Ryan Jarvis (Leyton Orient, free), Rossi Jarvis, Darren Huckerby, Matthew Halliday, Juan Velasco, Andrew Cave-Brown, Bally Smart, Patrick Bexfield (released)
EX-BLUES: None

Nottingham Forest

Manager: Colin Calderwood
07/08 Position: 2nd (League One)

IN: Robert Earnshaw (Derby, £2.65m), Paul Anderson (Liverpool, loan), Guy Moussi (Angers, undisclosed), Joe Garner (Carlisle, £1.14m), Andy Cole (Sunderland, free)
OUT: Grant Holt (Shrewsbury, £170,000), Sammy Clinigan (Norwich, free), Alan Power (Hartlepool, free), Matt Lockwood (Colchester, undisclosed), Kris Commons (Derby, free), Junior Agogo (Zamalek, undisclosed), Felix Bastians (Released)
EX-BLUES: Andy Cole

Plymouth Argyle

Manager: Paul Sturrock
07/08 Position: 10th

IN: Karl Duguid (Colchester, undisclosed), Jason Puncheon (Barnet, £250,000), Graham Stack (Wolves, free), Yala Bolasie (Floriana, undisclosed), David McNamee (Coventry, free)
OUT: Peter Halmosi (Hull, undisclosed), Paul Connolly (Derby, free), Paul Wotton (Southampton, free), Lee Hodges (Torquay, free), Nick Chadwick, Lilian Nalis, Reuben Reid, Jake Moult (released), Nadjim Abdou (Millwall, free)
EX-BLUES: None

Preston North End

Manager: Alan Irvine
07/08 Position: 15th

IN: Barry Nicholson (Aberdeen, free), Ross Wallace (Sunderland, loan)
OUT: None
EX-BLUES: Darren Carter

Queens Park Rangers

Manager: Iain Dowie
07/08 Position: 14th

IN: Radek Cerny (Slavia Prague, free), Peter Ramage (Newcastle, free), Samuel Di Carmine (Fiorentina, loan), Emmanuel Jorge Ledesema (Genoa, loan), Lee Cook (Fulham, loan), Daniel Parejo (Read Madrid, loan), Kaspars Gorkss (Blackpool, undisclosed)
OUT: Stefan Bailey (Grays, free), Daniel Nardiello (Blackpool, free), Zesh Rehman (Blackpool, loan), Jake Cole (Oxford, loan)
EX-BLUES: Rowan Vine

Reading

Manager: Steve Coppell
07/08 Position: 18th (Premier League)

IN: Noel Hunt (Dundee Utd, undisclosed)
OUT: Dave Kitson (Stoke, £5.5m), Glen Little (Portsmouth, undisclosed), Ben Hamer (Brentford, loan), Adam Bygrave (Weymouth, free), Joshua Webb (Weymouth, undisclosed), John Oster, Ulises De La Cruz, John Halls, Graham Stack, Aaron Brown (Released)
EX-BLUES: None

Sheffield United

Manager: Kevin Blackwell
07/08 Position: 9th

IN: Darius Henderson (Watford, £2m), Greg Halford (Sunderland, loan), Sun Jihai (Man City, free), David Cotterill (Wigan, undisclosed), Justin Haber (Haidari, free)
OUT: Rob Hulse (Derby, £1.75m), Luton Shelton (Valerenga, £1m), Chris Lucketti (Huddersfield, free), Ben Starosta (Aldershot, loan), Lloyd Kerry (Chesterfield, free), Paul Gerrard, Geoff Horsfield, James Ashmore, Martin Donnelly, Stephen Hernandez, Dean Oliver (Released)
EX-BLUES: Ian Bennett

Sheffield Wednesday

Manager: Brian Laws
07/08 Position: 16th

IN: James O'Connor (Burnley, free)
OUT: Lee Bullen (Falkirk, free), Ronnie Wallwork, Burton O'Brien, Rob Burch, Jason Bradley, Dave McClemments, James Kay (Released)
EX-BLUES: None

Southampton

Manager: Jan Poortvliet
07/08 Position: 20th

IN: Paul Wotton (Plymouth, free), Lee Holmes (Derby, free), Chris Perry (Luton, free), Morgan Schneiderlin (Strasbourg, £1.2m)
OUT: Cedric Baseya (Lille, free), Michael Poke (Torquay, free), Jermaine Wright (Blackpool, free), Inigo Idiakez, Alexander Ostlund, Darren Powell, Mario Licka, Josh Dutton-Black (released)
EX-BLUES: Stern John

Swansea City

Manager: Roberto Martinez
07/08 Position: 1st (League One)

IN: Ashley Williams (Stockport, undisclosed), Gorka Pintado (Granada, £100,000), Jordi Gomez (Espanyol, loan), Mark Gower (Southend, free), Albert Serran (Espanyol, £80,000), Federico Bessone (Espanyol, free), Fabian Brandy (Man Utd, loan), Stefan Morrison (West Brom, free)
OUT: Kevin Amankwaah (Swindon, free), Kevin Austin (Chesterfield, free), Andy Robinson (Leeds, free), Darryl Duffy (Bristol Rovers, free), Darren Way (Yeovil, free)
EX-BLUES: Marcos Painter

Watford

Manager: Adrian Boothroyd
07/08 Position: 6th

IN: Jon Harley (Burnley, free)
OUT: Darius Henderson (Sheff Utd, £2m), Jordan Stewart (Derby, free), Nathan Ellington (Derby, loan), Steve Kabba (Blackpool, loan), Toumani Diagouraga (Hereford, free)
EX-BLUES: Mat Sadler, Matt Jackson

Wolves

Manager: Mick McCarthy
07/08 Position: 7th

IN: Sam Vokes (Bournemouth, undisclosed), Richard Stearman (Leicester, undisclosed), David Jones (Derby, undisclosed), Chris Iwelumo (Charlton, undisclosed)
OUT: Gary Breen, Keith Lowe, Kevin O'Connor (released), Lee Collins (Port Vale, loan), Elliott Bennett (Bury, loan), Seyi Olofinjana (Stoke, £3m), Matt Bailey (Burton, loan), Charlie Mulgrew (Aberdeen, undisclosed), Freddy Eastwood (Coventry, £1.2m)
EX-BLUES: None