"Lampard really likes him" - Coventry City backed for making Brandon Thomas-Asante transfer call | OneFootball

Football League World's Coventry City fan pundit believes the Sky Blues were right to retain Brandon Thomas-Asante

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Coventry City were convincingly beaten 4-1 by Premier League Ipswich Town in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday afternoon, and will now turn their attention back to their bid to land a Championship play-off spot.

Amid their fight for a top-six place, the Sky Blues signed former Swansea City captain and experienced second-tier midfielder Matt Grimes during the January transfer window.

Sky Blues boss Frank Lampard also facilitated the exits of midfielder Kai Andrews and attacker Fabio Tavares, who were sent on loan to Scottish Premiership side Motherwell, and League One outfit Burton Albion respectively.

But striker Brandon Thomas-Asante remained in the West Midlands, despite the fact that Lampard's men received an offer of £1.75m for his services from Championship rivals Blackburn Rovers.

Football Insider's Pete O'Rourke also reported that fellow second tier outfit Stoke City, managed by former Coventry boss Mark Robins, had joined Blackburn in the race for Thomas-Asante's signature.

Following such reports, Football League World asked our Sky Blues fan pundit, Chris Deez, if his club did the right thing in resisting offers for the 26-year-old's services.

Coventry City fan pundit makes Thomas-Asante transfer admission

Chris told FLW: "For me, with Asante, I can see there is a real player there.

"He scored an absolute screamer, a stunning goal against Swansea (and has) three goals and an assist in his last six games.

"(I) Wasn't sold on him at the start of the season, a lot of West Brom fans were licking their lips, (they) couldn't believe that they got so much money for him, and were glad to see the back of him.

"Lampard really likes him, in the current system he's working really well, but the bigger question is, is he going to get any game time when Haji Wright comes back?

"Because he's obviously our best striker, a proven goalscorer.

"So, by the end of the season, it might be a case of, in hindsight, we should have taken the £1.75m.

"But I hope that, at least, between now and Haji Wright coming back, he can raise his stock a bit more (and) maybe even play alongside Wright.

"I'm not a fan of Ellis Simms, I never have been, not since day one.

"I don't think they (Simms and Wright) work particularly well together.

"I would like to see the back of Simms, and potentially keep Asante.

"But as I've said, Lampard really likes him, he's getting the best out of him.

"Probably, the main reason that he's stayed is because of the Haji Wright injury, we were a bit thin on numbers at the time, our substitutes like Tavares and (Raphael) Borges were not ready to step up and fill the void for Asante.

"So, I think it was probably for the best that we kept him."

Coventry made the right call in keeping Thomas-Asante

The striker's return of just four goals in 30 Championship appearances leaves a lot to be desired, but the Sky Blues still made the right call in retaining his services.

He only joined Coventry from West Brom last summer, and Lampard's men should certainly not have sanctioned his exit amid fellow forward Wright's continued spell on the sidelines through injury.

Furthermore, as alluded to by Chris, Lampard is currently getting the best out of Thomas-Asante, who has notched four goal contributions in his last six games across all competitions.