Transfer deadline day is here and it remains to be seen whether it’s set to be a busy day at Coventry City.
Sky Blues boss Mark Robins has made ten summer signings to date and stated that he would like two more to complete his summer rebuild, with a dynamic central midfielder and left footed centre-half his targeted positions to strengthen with today’s clock ticking down.
Deals have proved hard to get over the line all summer and these last two pieces of the jigsaw are proving to be no different as City look for the required qu
The club have been linked with a number of players in recent weeks, with Barnsley’s Liam Kitching understood to have been on Robins’ central defensive wish list, having had a £2.5million bid rising to £3m rejected by the League One club. The Tykes appear to be standing firm, determined to retain their 24-year-old skipper and only the next few hours will tell whether Coventry will attempt to test their resolve with an improved offer.
Elsewhere, reports from Slovenia have claimed City expressed an interest in Viking Stavanger defender David Brekalo, and dipping back into the European market cannot be ruled out at this late stage of the window. Failure to get another centre-half would not be a disaster, however, given that Joel Latibeaudiere has been doing an outstanding job in the left-sided berth in the back three and the fact that Luis Binks is waiting in the wings to get his chance. The only time it would become a problem is if any of the centre-backs suffered an injury or dramatic dip in form.
As for the midfield options, the manager is keen to find a player to help fill the void left by Hamer – the full package midfielder – but they are clearly hard to come by and, if you do find one, come at a price. According to the Sun’s Alan Nixon, the Sky Blues have joined the race for Nottingham Forest’s Lewis O’Brien who would certainly fit the bill in terms of ability, quality and experience.
However, CoventryLive understands that City are not pursuing the 24-year-old who has also been linked with Leeds United, Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town. Forest, it is claimed, want to recoup the £10m they paid Huddersfield for his services, although there is the possibility that he could be available on loan.
Robins, meanwhile, has stated that he would like permanent signings rather than any more temporary players at this stage of proceedings.
With Callum O’Hare and Jamie Allen due back from their respective injury lay-offs in the coming weeks they will help boost the strength in depth of the squad, which has looked pretty thin on the ground so far this term. A quick look at the bench speaks volumes, with a number of unproven youngsters continuing to make up the numbers among the nine substitute places.
Going in the opposite direction, unless there are any surprises, it seems that third choice goalkeeper Simon Moore is the only player currently surplus to requirements following the arrival of Brad Collins this summer. The 33-year-old is understood to be open to a move in order to get first team football in the final year of his contract, but it remains to be seen if a suitable club can be found or expresses an interest in him.
