City did not need eleventh-hour drama or wheeling and dealing having completed their incoming business in advance of the weekend. And impressive business it appears to be with five new faces – three on-loan and two permanent.
Despite being under the constraints of the second of their two-window EFL transfer restriction sanctions, City were still able to bring in a mix of experience and younger, promising talent using free transfers and loan additions with what owner Acun Ilicali described as "doing our magic".
In Paddy McNair and Kieran Dowell, they have players who have experience at Premier League and Championship level, having both started out at top-flight clubs.
Yu Hirakawa was deemed surplus to requirements – and maybe not utilised in the right way – at Bristol City, but in his initial substitute appearances for the Tigers, the Japanese winger has already got fans clamouring to see what more he can offer when his first start comes along.
Lewis Koumas did not have the best of times whilst on-loan at Birmingham City this season but he made an immediate impact for Sergej Jakirovic's side at the weekend. His took his late winning goal at Blackburn Rovers well after only being on the field for about four minutes. It feels like the Liverpool attacker arrives in East Yorkshire with a bit of a point to prove.
And rounding off the new signings is Manchester United midfielder Toby Collyer, who, like Koumas, had the chance to join City in the summer but opted for a temporary switch to West Bromwich Albion, which at the time felt understandably like a more lucrative option.
He is just recovered from a calf injury and has not played since November so I would imagine the club will be patient with him given they are a club who have incurred the wrath of the injury gods more than many other teams this season already.
The club also managed to move a couple of players on to free up the finances needed to make these deals happen and keep within PSR limits. Kasey Palmer went to Luton Town on loan, Brandon Williams had his contract paid up, and Tyrell Sellars-Fleming was loaned to nearby Grimsby Town.
Amid all of that, keeping the likes of highly rated defender Charlie Hughes and experienced centre-half John Egan, amid interest in both players during this window, might be the best bits of (non) business they were able to do for a team with genuine promotion aspirations.
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