Coventry City and Ipswich Town in £0 Brighton transfer race as Newcastle United lurk | OneFootball

Coventry City and Ipswich Town are chasing the services of Brighton winger Solly March on a free transfer

Coventry City and Ipswich Town have confirmed their places in the Premier League for next season, and work for the upcoming summer transfer window is already well underway.

The end of the Championship season has at last been reached, with Coventry going up as champions, Ipswich securing automatic promotion in second, and Hull City earning promotion through the play-offs after defeating Middlesbrough at Wembley.

Indeed, Coventry's 25-year absence from the top flight is finally over, orchestrated by former Chelsea and England midfielder Frank Lampard, whilst Ipswich have bounced back to the top tier at the first time of asking, having been relegated last time out.

Both will be eager to cement their places in the Premier League following promotion, and both will be well aware that this upcoming transfer window provides a huge opportunity to improve areas of weakness.

Coventry lack Premier League experience in their ranks, whilst Ipswich lack quality off the right flank, so it is no surprise to see them both linked with a free switch for an experienced right-winger this summer.

Coventry City and Ipswich Town are among several teams interested in Brighton winger Solly March this summer, following contract expiry

Only Frank Onyeka has ample Premier League experience in Coventry's current ranks, with the Nigerian midfielder having appeared regularly for Brentford in the top flight over the previous few seasons, with the Sky Blues severely lacking in this department.

Ipswich, meanwhile, have each of Jaden Philogene, Jack Clarke, and Anis Mehmeti, who are all best off the left, with only Wes Burns, Sindre Walle Egeli, and Kasey McAteer best off the right, whilst none of those has been able to nail down a spot in Kieran McKenna's starting 11.

It's no surprise that both clubs, as per TEAMtalk, have been linked with a move for Brighton winger Solly March this summer, after it was announced that the 31-year-old would be allowed to leave for free this summer upon the end of his current terms at the Amex.

A one-club player up until this point, March has made 300 appearances for the Seagulls across all competitions, never playing for any other team, not even on loan.

During the 2022/23 campaign, the winger hit seven goals and nine assists in 33 Premier League appearances, contributing to a goal almost every other game, and earning shouts of a potential England call-up.

Unfortunately for March, a phone call from the England camp never arrived, and an array of knee injuries and an ACL rupture have severely limited his playing time ever since, with just 19 league appearances across the last three seasons, including only four this time around.

Due to turn 32 before the beginning of next season, it's therefore little surprise that Brighton have decided that now is the time to part ways with March, with a host of Premier League clubs reportedly circling for his signature, including Coventry and Ipswich.

With 194 top-flight appearances under his belt, March would reinforce Coventry's squad with some much-needed experience of the division, whilst also offering as another option on the right flank to Tatsuhiro Sakamoto.

Whether Burns, Walle Egeli, or McAteer are capable of playing a starring role in the Premier League for Ipswich next season remains to be seen, especially with none having lit up the Championship this time around, albeit Burns has struggled with his own injury problems.

March would be a solid fit for both Coventry and Ipswich, and on a free transfer, despite his injury problems, he is surely a no-brainer.

Frank Lampard and Kieran McKenna are set to go head-to-head for transfer targets this summer amid Solly March links

With both in relatively similar positions, Coventry and Ipswich are bound to be interested in a few of the same players over the course of the summer, with March likely to be one of several.

However, with TEAMtalk reporting that each of Newcastle United, Everton, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and Fulham have also registered an interest in March, Coventry and Ipswich's chances for his services grow increasingly slim.

The winger will likely take his time to decide on his next destination after so long at Brighton, and with both Coventry and Ipswich offering interesting choices, a move to either of the newly-promoted sides wouldn't be a huge surprise.