Sky Bet Championship teams spent £100 million in this season's summer transfer window, according to Sky Sports, almost four times that of the next highest spending second-tier European league. 

Teams in the Bundesliga B, Germany's second division, spent a total of £25.5 million, followed by Italy's Serie B sides, who spent £14.6 million.

Teams in Spain's Liga Adelante spent less than £4 million at £3.65 million, whilst French teams in Ligue 2 didn't reach £1 million between them, spending £730,000.

The total spend in the Championship, widely regarded as one of the most competitive divisions in Europe, dwarfs those of other leagues, demonstrating the huge amount of money currently in English football.

TV broadcasting deals, parachute payments following clubs' relegation from the Premier League, and looser Financial Fair Play regulations have all contributed to this mammoth spend, and helped clubs like Derby County spend almost £20 million by the time the transfer window closed at the start of this month.

Deals like Andre Gray's £9 million switch from Brentford to Burnley were representative of a window in which transfer fees rivalled those of the Premier League, which saw clubs spend 14 per cent more on new players this summer - a figure which totalled a mind-boggling £885.85 million.

There are strong arguments that the vast amount of money in the game is making the gap between the Premier League and the Championship wider. This makes it more difficult for teams to achieve promotion, and then establish themselves as a top-flight club, without spending significant amounts of money, which not all clubs possess.

Championship fans... what do you make of the news? Do the figures surprise you? Is the gap between the top two divisions widening? Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!