Ben Sheaf theory played down after £6.5m Coventry City exit - Wrexham need to "give it 3 months" before judging | OneFootball

Ben Sheaf's performance against Norwich City for his new club has got plenty of Sky Blues and Wrexham fans talking

It was an intriguing first summer transfer window in charge of Coventry City for Frank Lampard, with very little in the way of incomings whilst several players were allowed to depart the club on a permanent or loan basis.

The Sky Blues are looking to build on what was a remarkable run from mid-table obscurity to a whisker away from a second Championship play-off final in three seasons in the first seven months of Lampard's tenure.

City have, arguably, one of the second tier's most well-rounded squads, with the former Chelsea and England midfield icon having several technically-gifted, dynamic and clinical performers to call upon across all departments.

As the West Midlands side continue to make several tweaks to their ranks, it has left stalwarts of their initial rise from League Two towards becoming a top-end Championship side somewhat behind, and that theme certainly applied to club captain, Ben Sheaf, during the latter stages of his six-year association with the club after initially joining on loan from Arsenal.

Regardless, some would argue that the experienced campaigner is far too good for a place on the substitutes' bench each passing week, and that has since been proven by his impact at Wrexham following a £6.5m move on Deadline Day, with the deep-lying midfielder strongly involved in the Red Dragons' 3-2 success at Norwich City last weekend.

Despite his well-documented antics at Carrow Road, Football League World's Coventry City fan pundit, Chris Deez, stands by his club's decision to move the 27-year-old on.

During his time with the Sky Blues, Sheaf established himself as an extremely dependable second tier performer despite only accumulating nine goals and 11 assists in 177 appearances for the club.

However, on his first start for Phil Parkinson's side, the midfielder earned plenty of rave reviews for a stunning switch of play which set Issa Kabore down the right flank, before the wing-back was able to play in Josh Windass for the first of his two goals in the encounter, initially levelling it up at 1-1 on 47 minutes.

Deez believes that it is still a good deal for both parties, although he believes that the Sky Blues aren't going to miss his services overall despite the exquisite pass in Norfolk.

"At the end of the day, you can't turn down £6.5m for a player who spends most of his time on the physio's bench," he said.

"Sheaf was a great servant for Coventry, a great captain. He was there for our low points and loads of our high points. But, he'd been phased out of the team, but was still a good player to have on the bench, don't get me wrong.

"At the moment, unless one of our midfielders gets long-term injured or has a calamitous couple of games, Sheaf wouldn't have got in the team. It makes all the sense in the world for him to fit straight into Wrexham's team," Deez claimed.

"I think it's safe to say, outside of maybe Windass, that he's probably their best player already," he stated.

"I would urge Wrexham fans not to jump the gun though. He's started one game, and he put in one very good cross, which could have been dealt with better by the Norwich defenders but that's another story, one which I said on social media and others didn't really appreciate.

"If he can stay fit, he's a great signing," Deez admitted. "I still thing £6.5m is a bit much for him. He only had a year left on his deal, his bad injury record. But, he'll absolutely improve Wrexham, I just don't think he's going to be good enough to get them towards the top end of the table.

"I would urge Wrexham fans to give it another three months and see how he's doing then, how many times he's broken the glass player that he is.

"I wouldn't say we miss him because of one very good pass. We've got Torp and Rudoni who can both do that, and on his day, Jamie Allen could probably do it as well," our fan pundit added.

Coventry City will still feel Ben Sheaf, Wrexham deal has been vindicated

It is clear that there is no ill-feeling towards Sheaf for the way his time at the CBS came to an end, having been an integral player for the Sky Blues in recent times.

However, it must be said that the likes of Torp and Rudoni have continued to play at their maximum for the majority of this season's early stages, meaning that Lampard and supporters will still feel the decision to sanction a departure is vindicated, especially with their star performer set to sign a new 'bumper' contract despite Premier League interest.

Meanwhile, Sheaf is likely to continue having a strong impact for the Welsh side as they look to make their mark on the division after 43 years away, although it remains to be seen if they can immediately reach the same level of Coventry, who took two seasons to firmly establish themselves in the second tier before making a run for the play-offs under Mark Robins in 2022/23.