Coventry City facing double transfer exit fear - Frank Lampard will be aware | OneFootball

Attention will now turn to next season for the Sky Blues after their crushing Sunderland defeat

Coventry City painfully bowed out of the Championship promotion race following Sunderland’s last-gasp extra-time winner in the play-off semi-final.

It means, after a strong second half of the season under Frank Lampard, the Sky Blues will be forced to gear up for another campaign in the second tier.

Not only do they have to deal with that disappointment, but they will also be alive to the fact it may put some of their top players’ futures at the club at risk.

Players like Milan van Ewijk and Haji Wright have attracted interest in the past, and another season in the Championship will only weaken Coventry’s position to keep hold of them.

Van Ewijk already high on clubs’ shopping lists

Full-back Van Ewijk is undoubtedly one of Coventry’s most valuable assets.

Still only 24 years old, he has quickly proven to be one of the club’s most exciting players since his move from Dutch side Heerenveen for £3.4m.

Already in January, clubs like Fulham were looking at him among interest from the likes of Roma and Galatasaray.

A promotion to the Premier League would have made Van Ewijk difficult to prise away from the CBS Arena, where he is settled after two strong years with the club.

Now staring at the potential of a third, given the interest in him, you wouldn’t blame the Dutchman for wanting to test himself at a higher level.

Coventry’s defeat to Sunderland means he’ll need to set his sights on pastures new if that is his ambition.

Haji Wright has strong appeal

Similar is true for Wright, who has notched 12 goals in just 27 league appearances this season.

He was linked with now-relegated duo Leicester City and Ipswich Town in the January window, with journalist Graeme Bailey confirming to TBR Football at the time that he was ready for a top-flight challenge, and the Sky Blues were open to a sale, hoping to double their original £8m investment.

If that was Coventry and Wright’s position mid-season, the sentiment is unlikely to have changed with their failure to achieve promotion to the Premier League.

While the attraction has certainly dropped to move to Ipswich or Leicester, it wouldn’t be a shock to see one of the newly promoted sides take a look.

Lampard will be well aware that the result on Tuesday evening could usher in the farewell of his two fancied stars, among others.

Silver lining for Coventry

While it is obviously gutting not to be heading to the top tier, and it feels like a double blow to potentially lose two of the Sky Blues’ top stars, there is at least one positive.

Both Wright and Van Ewijk remain under contract at the CBS Arena until 2027, having both signed four-year deals when they were signed in 2023.

That provides plenty of breathing room, reducing the need for the Sky Blues to sell this summer and therefore putting them in a strong negotiating position.

They may not be able to keep their brightest talents in the Championship, following the crushing defeat to Sunderland, but they should at least boost their coffers to go again next season if they are led towards selling.