Coventry City talent warned of CBS Arena exit if Sky Blues reach Premier League - Frank Lampard 'speaks highly of him' | OneFootball

FLW’s Coventry City fan pundit has said whether he would consider a recall for forward Justin Obikwu.

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 are leading the way at the top of the Championship and are seemingly the team to catch after the opening handful of second tier matches.

The Sky Blues have been simply sensational, sitting at the summit of the table as Frank Lampard's side continue to score goals for fun.

The West Midlands outfit have set an early marker down that they could be champions come the end of the season, and it’s unsurprising to see, given their rise up the division in the last couple of years.

After losing to Luton Town in the play-off final on penalties back in 2023, the Sky Blues once again reached the play-offs last term but fell to defeat in the semi-finals to Sunderland, despite arguably being the better side over the course of the two legs.

Now they are carrying on the momentum, and with this Championship looking so open due to the lack of domination from the relegated Premier League trio of clubs, there’s real optimism that this could be the year for Coventry to end their 23-year exodus from the top-flight.

While players at the club have been catching the eye, some who were loaned out this summer are also impressing, with forward Justin Obikwu falling into that category.

Linking up with League One side Lincoln City in the summer, the 21-year-old frontman has made an immediate impact for the Imps, netting two goals and one assist from four appearances, with all of those coming from the substitutes' bench.

After accruing just 53 minutes of game time in the third-tier so far this term, he will be eager to earn more and showcase what he can do in longer periods of games, but it has sparked the question over whether the Sky Blues could recall him to add another body to the squad for the relentless upcoming scheduling.

Football League World's Coventry City fan pundit spoke on this topic, issuing his thoughts on what Obikwu’s future could look like at the turn of the new year

Speaking to FLW, Coventry City fan pundit Chris Deez has admitted that Obikwu’s future at the CBS Arena is dependent on whether the club gains promotion to the Premier League this season, fearing he may not get an opportunity if they break into the top-flight.

Chris said: “Obikwu is a weird one. He’s another player that Lampard has spoken highly of, that he’s a player he likes the look of and wants to see more of, but then allowed him to go out on loan again to try and get a better idea of what the lad can do.

“He had a couple of loan spells at Grimsby Town and looked pretty good for them, scored seven goals in only 19 league games for them in his second spell, so not a bad return, especially for a young player who doesn’t get to start many games and a lot of his appearances are off the bench.

“He’s never made a senior appearance for us, but I’ve only ever heard good things about him when he’s played for the Under-21s. He’s made a few appearances for Lincoln this season, scored two goals and got an assist, he’s even played for Trinidad and Tobago, getting minutes for his national team, so there’s obviously a good player there.

“It’s fairly obvious that if he was here, he would be on the bench. He’s not going to be starting over the likes of (Haji) Wright, (Tatsuhiro) Sakamoto and (Brandon) Thomas-Asante, but I would like to see him feature for Coventry at some point in the future. It does depend on what the long-term plan is and what happens to us this season.

“If we do get promoted to the Premier League, and he can’t even get on the bench in the Championship, what are the chances that he will be with us next season?

“How long do we keep loaning him out for? Do we want to become a Chelsea who just keep players on the books for years and years, loaning them out to a dozen teams, and then they never make an appearance for the first team? It’s just pointless.

“He could be one to look at in January if we get any injuries or suspensions coming up. It might be a good one to recall from loan and see if he’s improved at all, but we’ll probably end up sending him back out on loan, but it depends on what Frank Lampard wants from him.

“At the moment though, as critical as I have been of Ellis Simms over the last year, he’s still our best option off the bench and I don’t think Obikwu would come back and take his spot off the bench or be the main option to come on for Haji Wright.”

Jordan Obikwu should remain at Lincoln City for the season

While Obikwu has been able to make an impact for Lincoln when called upon from the bench, he has still had nowhere near the minutes needed for Coventry City to truly consider a recall from his loan spell.

For Lampard to be convinced that he can contribute to their promotion push in the Championship, Obikwu has to start earning a consistent number of starts and keep the goals flowing, but it appears unlikely that this will happen given he was an unused substitute in Lincoln’s home victory over Stevenage last weekend.

A recall could be in order to send him out elsewhere, but it seems a remote chance that he will be donning a Coventry shirt this season, with vital experience in the division below needed before he can make the step-up in class to the Championship.

If Coventry do get promoted to the Premier League at the end of this term, then you do feel his stay at the CBS Arena may well be brought to an end, as the Sky Blues would significantly need to revamp the squad in order to be competitive among England’s elite sides.