Coventry City question mark raised amid Cardiff City transfer news - 'I don't know what Doug King is thinking' | OneFootball

Championship leaders Coventry City have scouted Cardiff City duo Ronan Kpakio and Dylan Lawlor

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Coventry City have sent scouts to keep tabs on highly-rated Cardiff City duo Ronan Kpakio and Dylan Lawlor, who have helped the Bluebirds climb to the top of the League One table.

Frank Lampard's men sit first in the Championship and have put themselves in a strong position to go on and earn a long-awaited Premier League return, but will have to continue seeing off the threat of Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town.

The Sky Blues have utilised the January transfer window to sign wingers Yang Min-Hyeok and Romain Esse on loan from Tottenham and Crystal Palace, respectively.

Esse featured for 67 minutes on Saturday as Coventry defeated Leicester City 2-1 on Saturday, thanks to goals from Ellis Simms and Haji Wright.

Coventry City recruitment strategy questioned amid interest in Cardiff City stars Ronan Kpakio and Dylan Lawlor

Lampard has already strengthened his squad with the additions of Yang and Esse, while Coventry have also scouted Cardiff duo Kpakio and Lawlor.

Attack-minded right-back Kpakio and cultured ball-playing central defender Lawlor have both been integral in Cardiff's surge towards the League One title under head coach Brian Barry-Murphy, seizing their freshly-afforded opportunities with both hands and earning rave reviews in South Wales and beyond.

Amid the Championship club's interest in the Bluebirds stars, Football League World asked our Sky Blues fan pundit, Chris Deez, if he would urge his side to sign the Cardiff men amid high-profile rivals in the transfer market, and if Kpakio and Lawlor are ready for a second-tier title challenge right now.

Deez said: "I think this could be some really smart, very shrewd business from us here, especially Lawlor. He's been basically outstanding for Cardiff this season, and a large part of why they are where they are in League One at the moment, at the top of the table, looking like they are going to come back to the Championship, where they belong, let's be honest.

"They're a big team, and they deserve to be up there. I don't really know what our plan is in terms of the youth and development of academy players because we've loaned most of them out.

"I'm still a bit confused why we loaned out (Callum) Perry. He was our Under-21s captain. We've sent him down to the National League, even though he'd been on the bench a few times for us, and he looked really good in pre-season against Real Betis.

"We've just sold (Justin) Obikwu, we've still got Raphael (Borges Rodrigues) out on loan. There's a few other young players we've got out on loan at the likes of Forest Green.

"I keep hearing people say how good Lampard is with the youth, but none of the youth are even here at the club for him to be good with them. I don't really understand where that narrative has come from.

"Back to the Cardiff lads, yes, I think they would be pretty good signings. I think Lawlor would probably be good enough to at least be on the bench. For the last few months, we've had an incredibly shaky defence. Maybe he might be somebody good to have pushing for a place in the starting 11, maybe pushing out the likes of (Liam) Kitching.

"I think it's safe to say that Bobby Thomas is still our best defender, still our best centre-back. But recently, when paired with Kitching, they've looked shaky, with (Luke) Woolfenden even shakier. (Joel) Latibeaudiere has come in and done really well, like he always does, always works his socks off, but we need a more consistent, solid centre-back pairing.

"Maybe it's a bit too soon to be signing Lawlor and to be chucking him straight into a Premier League promotion push. I'm just a little concerned that we are less than two weeks away from the end of the window, and our main focus is on two young lads from Cardiff, while the likes of Ipswich, Middlesbrough, Watford are all signing players with Premier League experience.

"Watford have signed somebody whose contract was terminated at Roma (Eduardo Bove). These are the kind of signings that we need to be going in for, not looking around the lower leagues to bulk up our academy, which is currently leaking players. It's a very strange strategy. I really don't know what Doug King is thinking half the time.

"I don't really know how ambitious he actually is. This is the best chance we've ever had of getting back to the Premier League since not being in the Premier League, and I just feel like his priorities are in the wrong place."

Dylan Lawlor and Ronan Kpakio may not be what Frank Lampard needs right now amid Premier League aspirations

Kpakio's impressive performances in League One have attracted interest from European giants such as Manchester United and AC Milan, as well as Coventry, while Lawlor has also been scouted by the Sky Blues, as per Wales Online. T

he pair have been tracked by top clubs for some time and are both among the most promising talents outside of the Premier League, where their futures undoubtedly lie, although you can see why Coventry supporters would prefer a clearer pathway for the club's own emerging prospects.

As alluded to by Deez, Lawlor could have what it takes to challenge the likes of Kitching for a spot in Lampard's starting 11 amid his side's push to earn promotion to the Premier League.

However, the 20-year-old made just one Championship appearance for the Bluebirds last term, while the vast majority of his senior outings have come in League One.

Therefore, perhaps Coventry should look elsewhere as they bolster their squad to prepare for the business end of their promotion bid.