Coventry City laughed loudest at Newcastle United - they’ll always wonder ‘what if’" | OneFootball

Coventry City had the last laugh in a deal with Newcastle United, but both clubs will always be wondering "what if" with the player in question...

There are often curious crossovers between clubs, even ones that have seldom faced one another, and soon-to-be-Premier League side Coventry City are no different with Newcastle United.

Over the last three decades, they are two clubs from very different footballing worlds who have had vastly different trajectories. Newcastle United have played Coventry City just four times since their relegation in 2001.

There was an FA Cup clash in 2005 and a League Cup tie in 2008, with Newcastle winning on both occasions. They also won home and away on their way to the Championship title in 2009/10. Next season, they are almost certain to face one another again at last. Yet, in those years in between, they have been linked by a steady trickle of players moving between them.

Some of those with impact, with others barely leaving a trace. It’s a relationship that has occasionally thrown up intriguing stories. Players heading north in search of the Premier League spotlight, or dropping into the EFL and looking to rebuild. Sometimes, those moves make perfect sense. Other times, they certainly feel like gambles.

With Newcastle playing the vast majority of their football in the top flight, they can handpick the brightest stars from clubs lower down the footballing pyramid. These are moments of risk where potential is valued over certainty — and often where both clubs walk away believing they’ve struck a smart deal.

Newcastle United signing Gael Bigirimana from Coventry City did not go as planned

There are times where there are obvious successes or failures, but the ones most intriguing are those that sit somewhere in between. The transfers that look shrewd on paper or even clever in execution, but, years later, you’re still asking whether anyone truly "won" in the transfer deal overall.

It's fair to say that one such move stands out more than most. It involved a young Coventry midfielder, who was raw but immensely promising. He caught the eye during Coventry’s turbulent early 2010s period. After just a single season, Gael Bigirimana was snapped up by Newcastle.

It was a move that, at the time, was a significant step up and undoubtedly a reflection of his potential ceiling. From Coventry’s perspective, it was smart business in the short-term. They secured a fee for a player still developing while they were trying to improve their league situation swiftly.

It looked even better still when they eventually — and cleverly — brought him back on loan, ensuring they regained his services without long-term risk about his potential. In fact, they would even re-sign him permanently in 2016 in League One after failing to reach the heights Newcastle had hoped.

But this is where the “what if” creeps in, especially for Newcastle. Undoubtedly, Bigirimana showed flashes in his early days as a professional footballer. None more memorable than that stunning long-range strike against Wigan Athletic during his early Newcastle appearances.

It was the kind of goal that stops you in your tracks and makes you think a player is destined for something far bigger. It was audacious with his weaker foot to even take it on, and hinted that he could be a technically sound and fearless midfield player. It also hinted at a player who might develop into being able to dictate games at the highest level.

That said, it's fair to say that hitting that level consistently was never fully reached by the Burundi international.

The curious case of Gael Bigirimana's Newcastle and Coventry career

For Newcastle, Bigirimana became a player of moments rather than consistency. For Coventry, his return never quite recaptured the same excitement that surrounded his initial breakthrough. The trajectory for his career didn't just flatten, but his spark dimmed, and he arguably declined from the player lighting up St. James' Park in flashes.

What once looked like a rising Premier League talent became just another small moment of brilliance. That's where, in many ways, Coventry laughed loudest. Financially off the pitch and on the pitch itself as a player, they played their hand with Bigirimana and Newcastle perfectly.

It's easy to say with the power of hindsight, but they maximised value and ultimately avoided being tied to a player who didn’t fully deliver on his early promise. But even then, there’s that lingering question for both clubs involved in this particular transfer deal for the now 32-year-old plying his trade with Dungannon Swifts.

Because players like Bigirimana don’t just burst onto the scene and then disappear from memory. That goal and some of those early performances will absolutely stay with you. Say his name to a Newcastle fan, for example, and their first thought is under the lights against Wigan.

They can then envisage what might have been, and perhaps what should have been. These fans create a version of a career that never quite happened. In the end, for Coventry, it was good business. But for Newcastle, it looks like a low-risk punt, yet the imagination still wonders what could have transpired with Bigirimana instead.