Coventry City must rue £6.5m transfer mistake along with these 4 others | OneFootball

FLW takes a look at five major Coventry City transfer flops.

Coventry City have largely been enjoying the fruits of strong recruitment in recent times, but not all signings can go to plan.

Viktor Gyokeres, Gustavo Hamer, Callum O'Hare and Milan van Ewijk are just some examples of some of the highly shrewd business the Sky Blues have been doing in the transfer market over the last few years.

However, like any club, with hits also come misses. As such, Football League World has comprised a list of five signings that could Coventry go back in time, they probably wouldn't make again.

Freddy Eastwood

Signed in the 2008 summer transfer window from Wolves in a deal worth a reported £1.2m, Freddy Eastwood was brought to Coventry by his fellow Welsh countryman Chris Coleman.

Despite struggling for goals with The Old Gold after just one season at Molineux, the then 24-year-old had been prolific from his time with Southend United, and it was hoped that he could provide the goals to help the Sky Blues start climbing the Championship table.

However, although he did become the first player to ever score a hat-trick at Coventry's Ricoh Arena, Eastwood would score just 18 goals in 124 appearances for the club, before returning to Southend in the summer of 2012 after being released by the club.

Kevin Kyle

Some players just don't strike a chord with a fanbase, and unfortunately for Kevin Kyle, that was the case with the Sky Blues faithful.

Signed in the 2006 summer transfer window, the Scottish international striker was a £600,000 addition from Sunderland, having spent a long period of time between 2004-2006 on the sidelines with a troublesome hip injury.

He'd shown goalscoring ability on Wearside though, and so it was hoped that he could produce the goods as a Coventry player. That wasn't to be the case, however, as he would score just three goals in 31 Championship games during the 2006/07 season.

After scoring just two goals from 13 league appearances during the first half of the 2007/08 season, he joined promotion-chasing Wolves on loan, before a brief loan spell with Hartlepool United in October 2008 preceded his permanent departure to Scottish side Kilmarnock in January 2009 after seeing his Coventry contract terminated.

"I didn't get a fair crack of the whip at Coventry," Kyle said in a 2008 interview after joining Wolves. "It honestly makes a difference if the fans aren't on your back, believe me.

"I think I read somewhere that Craig Bellamy said that of all the clubs he's been at in his career the Coventry fans have been the worst and I think I'd agree with him!"

Marcel Hilssner

A name which is likely to be a pub quiz answer for decades to come in Coventry, you would be forgiven for failing to remember Marcel Hilssner in a Sky Blues shirt, and that's because he was never seen in a competitive game.

The attacking midfielder joined the club on a three-year deal in the summer of 2020 from German side Paderborn, having also failed to ever make an appearance there either.

He was clearly a player that had talent and potential, as he'd graduated from Werder Bremen's academy system and had been awarded with numerous caps for Germany at youth level during the early years of his career.

However, after loans to Oldham Athletic and FSV Zwickau between January 2021-June 2022, he spent the duration of the 2022/23 season nowhere to be seen, before being released in January 2023.

Yakubu

A striker who'd enjoyed a highly prolific and fruitful career with numerous Premier League clubs such as Middlesbrough, Portsmouth, Everton and Blackburn, Yakubu brought quite the pedigree with him upon signing for Coventry City in February 2017.

With the Sky Blues sitting bottom of League One at the time of his arrival, it was hoped that the then 34-year-old centre-forward would still have enough gas left in the tank to fire the club to safety.

He would make just three appearances and score zero goals in a Coventry shirt in the second half of the 2016/17 season, consisting of a mere 69 minutes on the pitch. City would also be relegated to League Two that year, finishing 23rd in League One.

Craig Bellamy

If you find yourself uttering the name Craig Bellamy on your next visit to the CBS Arena, make sure to say it quietly, as you may not become the most popular with the Sky Blues supporters.

Such is the bad taste that still lingers in the mouths of many Coventry fans regarding their former record signing in the summer of 2000.

City had just sold Robbie Keane to Italian giants Inter for a fee of £13m, and Bellamy was to be his replacement, arriving reluctantly from Norwich City in a deal worth £6.5m for the 21-year-old.

However, after scoring just six times in 34 Premier League appearances during the 2000/01 season, the Welshman left the club after just one season - in which City were relegated from the top flight after 34 years at that level - joining Newcastle United.

"I never once enjoyed it at Coventry," Bellamy would say after his departure. "I felt quite demoralised. I had enjoyed myself so much at Norwich – but I found I had taken a backward step."