Coventry have used the money they got from selling Gyokeres on expensive strikers – but both are now living up to the price tag.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Coventry City stun Wolves with stoppage-time comeback to secure FA Cup semi-final spot.
- Losing Gyokeres was tough, but Simms and Wright are proving to be worthy replacements.
- Sky Blues strike duo adapting well, thriving in new formation, showcasing promising partnership.
Coventry City are chasing Premier League football for the first time since 2001, but the Sky Blues have found themselves with a real chance of winning the FA Cup.
On Saturday afternoon, Coventry managed to score two goals in the seventh and tenth minutes of injury time to book their place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, coming from behind to beat Wolves 3-2 at Molineux.
The Sky Blues will now be playing at Wembley for successive seasons – having lost there last May in the Championship play-off final, with Luton Town defeating them on penalties.
They will be making sure that their FA Cup adventure does not distract from the main objective of playing in the top flight of English football.
After a turbulent summer in the West Midlands where they lost their main man up front, Mark Robins managed to replace him with two new forwards who are now showing their worth.
Losing Viktor Gyokeres was a gutting blow, and Coventry had to find replacements
But last season they had what is essential for promotion, a goal-scoring striker. That came in the form of Viktor Gyokeres.
The Swede had initially joined back in January 2021 on loan from Brighton, before joining permanently the following summer.
In 21/22 he scored 17 goals and got five assists in 45 Championship games, showing himself to be a lethal striker at this level, as Cov finished in 12th.
The 22/23 campaign saw Gyokeres go one better. Across 49 Championship games, including the play-offs, he scored 21 goals, with 12 assists.
He became a strong focal point to the Sky Blues’ play, with no one else in the division contributing to more goals than him. His pace and power were too much for many defenders to handle.
That led to his departure in the summer – after weeks and months of rumours, he finally sealed a move to Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon, in a deal that reportedly could reach €26 million.
Having lost at Wembley, Coventry were now in desperate need for a striker to replace Gyokeres, and they also had the money to go out and get one – or in this case, two.
Ellis Simms was brought in first from Everton, signing for an initial £3.5 million, which could rise to £8 million.
A few weeks later, they signed a second striker in Haji Wright. The American international joined from Turkish side Antalyaspor, for a fee of £7.7 million (€9 million).
Ellis Simms and Haji Wright now living up to the price tags
Simms struggled initially, scoring just two goals in his first 24 Championship games. But recently he has come alive, scoring ten goals in his last eight games across all competitions, including two in the win over Wolves at the weekend.
Wright also took time to adjust, scoring twice in his first 14 league games, but now has five goal contributions in his last four games.
| Coventry City’s top scorers (league only, as of 20/03/24) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Appearances | Goals |
| Haji Wright | 35 | 13 |
| Ellis Simms | 37 | 9 |
| Tatsuhiro Sakamoto | 29 | 7 |
| Callum O’Hare | 23 | 6 |
| Matt Godden | 31 | 6 |
The pair have seemed to adjust well to the revert in formation back to the 3-5-2, following the injury to Tatsuhiro Sakamoto.
The winning goal against Wolves optimised how well they are working together up front – the ball is played into Simms inside the box, whose movement towards the ball allows Wright more space and time to finish into the bottom right-hand corner, following a quick layoff by Simms.
Most teams in the Championship struggle to find one striker who is potent at this level, but it is a massive credit to Coventry’s recruitment team that they have found two
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