'Worrying sign' - Coventry City plot Sheffield Wednesday transfer | OneFootball

FLW's Coventry City fan pundit is less than thrilled with reports linking the Sky Blues to Pierce Charles

To many, Carl Rushworth has been the best player in the Championship this season, and even with Coventry City on the brink of Premier League promotion, they'll still incur a great struggle to bring him in permanently.

The Brighton and Hove Albion loanee understandably has plenty of suitors outside of Coventry, most notably Newcastle United, per TalkSPORT, but there's also a possibility that the Seagulls may also opt to keep him for themselves next season.

Per Fotmob, Rushworth has kept the most clean sheets and prevented the most goals in the Championship this season, and then, from a distribution perspective, has made the most successful passes and created the most chances, too, even picking up an assist against Middlesbrough in February.

The 24-year-old is one of the most well-rounded shot-stoppers in England currently, let alone the Championship, and if it does turn out that Frank Lampard's side cannot tie him down to a permanent deal at the CBS Arena, then there'll be big shoes to fill in the Sky Blues goal.

According to TeamTalk, those shoes could be filled by Sheffield Wednesday shot-stopper Pierce Charles, who has had his resolve tested in the Owls' goal this season, given the uphill battle faced at Hillsborough off-field, which has impacted the squad's performances on it.

Coventry City fan pundit not too impressed with Pierce Charles links

Sheffield Wednesday endured a difficult summer of financial troubles caused by former owner Dejphon Chansiri, which ultimately led the club to be placed into administration in October. Numerous on-field assets were sold or allowed to walk away from their contracts, but not Charles.

The 20-year-old has battled numerous shoulder injuries this season, limiting him to just 15 Championship appearances, but in that time, he's still faced a whopping 101 shots, and if not for his performances in goal, Wednesday would lose by heavier margins than they currently do.

His future likely lies away from the League One-bound Owls, but FLW's Coventry fan pundit, Chris Deez, doesn't think it should lead him to the Premier League-bound Sky Blues.

"It's one of the more interesting Coventry transfer rumours I've seen in a while," Deez said.

"Charles is not a bad keeper. He's obviously in a bad situation at Sheffield Wednesday, and nobody would envy him or any of their team at the moment. He's played a few games for Northern Ireland and has been shipping goals in for Wednesday, while putting up decent performances.

"It's an interesting one, because he surely wouldn't be playing for us in the Premier League; I can't see a situation where that happens."

Deez understands that his side will likely have to be in the market for a goalkeeper this coming summer, as the likelihood of keeping Rushworth, albeit the ideal scenario, may not be a realistic one.

"It's looking less and less likely that we sign Rushworth on a permanent deal, which is absolutely devastating," the fan pundit added.

"We will need a backup plan, and I've seen we've been linked with Anthony Patterson from Sunderland.

"We've still got Oliver Dovin to come back from a long-term injury, and I'm excited to see what he can do, and we've still got Ben Wilson, too, who has been a fantastic servant for us."

Pierce Charles signing would be part of relegation contingency plan, fan pundit suggests

It's been over a year now since Dovin last played, after he was stretchered off with an ACL injury against Sheffield United last April. And while Wilson has been a great servant to the club, he's been the backup at the CBS Arena in each of the last two seasons.

Both would be massive risks of being the number one next season in the Premier League, and similarly with Patterson, too, who was seen as someone who needed to be replaced by Sunderland heading into the current campaign, leading to the arrival of the impressive Robin Roefs.

Charles would arguably be on a similar level to those three, but Deez believes that, if Coventry strikes a deal with Sheffield Wednesday, it would lead the Northern Irishman to be a youth team player at the CBS Arena, with a view to getting game time in the 2027/28 campaign if Frank Lampard's side suffers an immediate relegation back to the Championship.

"I would imagine that, if we signed Charles, he wouldn't cost a lot, as Wednesday can't hold anyone to ransom, but I would imagine, with him being only 20, he'd go out on loan somewhere or join up with our Under-21's," he continued.

"I'm all for buying for the future and for planning ahead, and we do have to have one eye on us coming straight back down from the Premier League, so that foresight and planning are smart things to do.

"But I don't like the fact that we're about to go into a summer transfer window, and Pierce Charles is one of the top names we are being linked with. It's a slightly worrying sign."

Arguably, the 20-year-old's level currently is at a Championship side challenging for promotion, as he still has room to improve and become the finished product at a Premier League outfit.

A move to play in the Premier League this summer could be a step too far for Charles this early on in his career, but there's no doubting that the Northern Irishman could follow in the path of Rushworth and become a top-flight-ready shot-stopper while on loan at a second-tier club.