Thus far this season, Coventry City is enjoying success.
After losing to Luton Town in the Championship play-off final on penalties the previous season, the Sky Blues are attempting to make it to back-to-back play-off finishes.
Coventry has only lost three games in the Championship since the beginning of December, which has helped them establish themselves as one of the division’s top teams after a difficult start to the season.
Star players like Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer had to be replaced after their summertime moves to Sporting Lisbon and Sheffield United, respectively.
Haji Wright was the striker brought in to take Gyokeres’ spot.
Wright has demonstrated quality, but he is not reliable.
Wright signed for a reported £7.7 million after being acquired for a club record from Turkish team Antalyaspor.
Wright has demonstrated his potential to be a premier striker in the Championship, but his all-around play has not consistently matched that potential.
The 25-year-old struggles to dominate in a crowded box and performs poorly when playing as a striker to get in behind defenses. His back-to-goal play is also lacking.
His low touch average of 34.8 touches per 90, which places him in the bottom 2% of Championship strikers, demonstrates this.
His work, however, seems to indicate differently. So far this season, he has made 19 starts, 11 more appearances off the bench, and ten goals and five assists.
Wright has primarily played for the Sky Blues in the middle. He has, nonetheless, demonstrated in recent games that his skills might be more effective on the left wing.
His second goal of the game against Millwall on Sunday afternoon demonstrated that he had scored a brace.
Using his exceptional ability to break away from the full back and pick up speed to shoot, he blasted off the left wing. With precision, he moved into his near post by cutting in with his right foot.
Mason-Clark might pose a serious threat to Wright.
Though Coventry signed two players in January, one of them will be joining the team in the summer under Mark Robins.
It’s Ephron Mason-Clark, the player. He was bought by Coventry for a reported £4.25 million from League One team Peterborough United.
He’ll return to Posh on loan for the remainder of the season, with Peterborough apparently agreeing to pay £750,000 less than their original £5 million asking price to get him back on loan.
Playing mostly on the left wing, Mason-Clark has been one of Peterborough’s top players thus far this season.
With the Posh vying for promotion back to the Championship, he has made 29 starts in League One thus far, tallying 10 goals and five assists.
Mason-Clark’s move may have an immediate impact on Wright because of his summer arrival and the significant sum of money Coventry spent to acquire him.
Having never played above League One level in his career, Mason-Clark will be seeking to establish himself in this role.
If Robins can consistently get Wright to put up these kinds of performances, it might create a major dilemma for him in the summertime regarding who should play on the wing.
In any case, it might hurt one of the two, and they’ve invested a total of £12 million in each of them, so they’re in a difficult spot.
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