£8m Coventry City ace could face January exit - Birmingham & Wrexham must be on alert | OneFootball

Ellis Simms could leave Coventry City in the January window amid strong competition as Birmingham and Wrexham should prepare moves

The January transfer window is still three months away, though clubs across the EFL will be acutely aware of what, if any, business they will be required to do when winter rolls around.

Despite the January window still being months away from opening, this won't have stopped teams across the EFL, including the Championship, from preparing for the business they intend to do once the opportunity arises.

The three-week international break will have especially provided clubs with a chance to sit down, assess their seasons thus far and their current squads, and identify areas of weakness that could be addressed in the next window.

Players from clubs in the division above may become available due to a lack of game time, which is the exact boat Coventry City's Ellis Simms could find himself in.

Action Images

Simms, 25, came through the ranks of Everton, scoring prolifically for the Toffees at youth level, before loans to Blackpool, Hearts, and Sunderland followed, before Coventry decided to part ways with a potential £8 million to bring the forward to the CBS Arena in the summer of 2023.

In the more than three years since, Simms has gone on to make nearly 150 appearances across all competitions for the Sky Blues, scoring 40 and assisting eight, playing a key role in Frank Lampard's side's promotion to the Premier League last season, often rotating up top with USMNT striker Haji Wright.

Starting Coventry's first game back in the Premier League away to Arsenal, Simms impressed with his hold-up play, but the Sky Blues decided to dip into the market anyway, bringing in both Taiwo Awoniyi and Sidiki Cherif to the club to compete with Simms and Wright for a place up top.

Since the first game, Simms hasn't started another game in any competition and has earned just 35 more minutes of Premier League football, and should his situation remain unchanged, he could be allowed to leave on loan, as Football League World takes a look at two Championship clubs that must be alert to his situation come January.

Birmingham City

Action images

Birmingham City used the summer window as an opportunity to address their options in the centre-forward role, bringing in Argentine forward Luis Vazquez from Anderlecht to compete with August Priske and Marvin Ducksch.

However, Vazquez has yet to set St Andrews alight, failing to find the back of the net in any of his eight Championship appearances thus far, whilst Priske has scored just twice since arriving at the club last January, and Ducksch has been heavily linked with a return to Germany, seemingly having fallen out of favour under Chris Davies.

It could very well be the case that Birmingham enter the market in January in search of another centre-forward option as a result, and should Simms become available from Coventry, Blues ought to be all over that deal.

Davies has tended to prefer a physical presence up top in his Birmingham side since taking charge of the club over two years ago, and Simms' profile would more than fit the bill for what he would be looking for in a striker.

The likelihood of Coventry selling Simms, especially in January, regardless of what position they find themselves in, is extremely unlikely, but a loan move back to the second tier cannot be ruled out at this stage.

Simms would provide incredible competition up top at St Andrews, and would take little time to adapt back to the Championship; if Coventry are willing to loan him to Birmingham, this could be a match made in heaven.

Wrexham

Action Images

Wrexham haven't quite had the start to the campaign they would have been hoping for, winning just two of their opening eight Championship games, but as ever, Phil Parkinson's side have looked difficult to beat.

34-year-old Kieffer Moore is still doing a job up top, with three goals already this season, whilst Sam Smith offers another option up top for Parkinson to choose from.

However, the Hollywood-owned outfit lacks a real star forward in their ranks; someone who can win games on their own with a flash of brilliance whilst still providing the physical outlet Parkinson prefers from his centre-forward.

Simms, therefore, would be the perfect fit for Wrexham, who may well have the money to tempt Coventry into a sale outright, but may be better placed to try and bring the 25-year-old to North Wales on loan.

His addition would allow Moore to be rested more often, whilst Smith would continue to offer a different type of profile up top.

Wrexham have displayed some immense pulling power in their rise through the divisions, and if they can tempt Simms to make the move to the Racecourse Ground, even on loan, it could be their biggest coup yet.

The Everton youth product has the potential to be the difference between promotion and mediocrity for Wrexham this campaign, and if he were to become available in the winter, the Welsh outfit must be all over this one.