Charlton and Millwall both need to be shrewd in the transfer market.

Operating with a budget at the lower end of the league’s spectrum, Lee Bowyer and Neil Harris have admitted they will be ‘creative’ as they look to build sides to mount a challenge in a tough Championship.

Charlton

Last season Lee Bowyer and Head of Recruitment Steve Gallen mastered their way to promotion from League One, largely thanks to the signings they made over two transfer windows.

Josh Cullen, Krystian Bielik, Jed Steer, Ben Purrington, Jamie Ward, and Chris Maxwell all joined on loan with large success.

So far this summer they’ve made four permanent signings of note with Purrington, Chuks Aneke, Macauley Bonne and Tom Lockyear joining the Valley outfit.

But with nine players from the first team squad leaving, they will be looking to add to the squad, and with their budget one would expect a few loan signings.

Millwall

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Similar to Charlton, Millwall have a cunning operator in Harris.

Matt Smith, Frankie Fielding and Alex Pearce have joined Harris’s re-vamping and there’s a few more expected before the transfer closes next month.

So what do we need to know about the transfer window?

When does the window close:

For Championship clubs, at 5pm on the Thursday immediately prior to the start of the Premier League season, this means August 8th as top flight clubs moved to have the summer window closed before their season kicks off that weekend.

For clubs in League One and Two, it’s 5pm on August 31.

The Winter Window:

The winter transfer window opens at midnight on December 31st, and closes at midnight on January 31st, unless it falls on a weekend, then the EFL will announce a revised time.

READ:

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Who can loan?

It may sound daft, but a player can only be loaned from one club to another. This means the player has to be contracted to a club, and not a third owned party. Remember the issue between ‘West Ham’s’ Tevez and Mascherano V Neil Warnock's Sheffield United?

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How many loans can a player have in a season?

A player can surprisingly register for up to three teams in a season, but can only play official matches for two.

How many players can a club loan?

In the extensive EFL rule book, there seems to be no number on the maximum amount of loan players you may have, but you can only name five in your matchday 18.

This will be reduced to four if you’ve signed a goalkeeper on an emergency loan.

Can you loan more than one from the same club?

Yes, you can.

You can sign up to four from the same club, but two of those players may not be over the age of 23.

Can a player play against his parent club?

They can, but only if the parent club puts it in the agreement. But usually they don’t allow it because of the fall-out it would cause between player and club and fans. Think of LuaLua’s over the top celebrations after scoring the winner for Pompey against Newcastle in 2004.

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Can you recall players on loan?

Players on a season-long loan can be recalled by parent clubs in the January transfer window but only if the two clubs have agreed a recall clause in advance.

Can free agents be signed after the window shuts?

No, so expect a frantic last few days.

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Championship Gossip