Coventry City’s pre-season has instilled a renewed level of confidence and expectation amongst the fans, particularly those who had started to express concerns about a lack of squad depth amid frustrating closed season injuries.
Five pre-season casualties have been reduced to two, however, making for much healthier looking numbers with less than a week left until the Sky Blues get the new Championship campaign underway at Stoke. But the fact that Mark Robins’ men have been so stretched and reliant on youngsters to get through the warm-up schedule served to highlight how fragile a squad the manager has right now.
Lose a handful of players and all of a sudden things can start to look a bit sticky. With that in mind, we take a look at what’s needed in the final month of the summer transfer window to ensure the club has the wherewithal to mount a sustained push for promotion. Six players have come in so far, with four going the other way, but what’s needed to put the finishing touches to City’s summer recruitment drive?
It’s no secret that City have been the market for a dynamic central midfielder following their failed pursuit of Marko Stamenic earlier in the summer, with the Red Star man opting to join Nottingham Forest instead, albeit via a season-long loan at Olympiacos. Robins does have options other than key performer Ben Sheaf, with Josh Eccles and Jamie Allen both excellent against Everton last midweek, while fit-again Victor Torp can also operate as part of a deeper pair in the middle of the park. But, again, a couple of injuries here and there and all of a sudden the squad starts to look thin.
Robins is going to need and make use of a wider squad of players this season if the Sky Blues are to get through another gruelling schedule, and a new midfielder is arguably required to add quality and competition to the mix. Coincidentally, two players have emerged in the last few days, reported to be of interest to City.
