Coventry City: Where Ben Sheaf ranks among the most valuable EFL Championship stars | OneFootball

The midfielder did have speculation around his future during the summer transfer window

It has been a rather frustrating start to the Championship season for Coventry City so far.

During the previous campaign, a somewhat slow start ultimately proved costly for Mark Robins' side, as they narrowly missed out on a play-off place.

As a result, they will have wanted to start strongly this season, to avoid a repeat of that situation further down the line.

But with a return of just four points from four league games so far, things have arguably not gone as they would have hoped in that sense.

That may be even more disappointing for those of a Coventry persuasion, given the encouraging signs they showed in this summer's transfer window.

By the time the window closed at the end of August, the Sky Blues had added six new players to their first-team squad.

They had also managed to keep hold of a number of key individuals, including Ben Sheaf.

Premier League clubs showed summer interest in Ben Sheaf

Initially, Sheaf joined Coventry on loan from Arsenal in the summer of 2020, before making that move permanent 12 months later.

During his time with the club, the defensive midfielder has made 144 appearances in all competitions, scoring nine goals and providing nine assists.

That form attracted some significant attention over the summer transfer window.

Reports claimed that two Premier League sides, Fulham and newly-promoted Ipswich Town, were among those keen on the midfielder.

Coventry though, were able to fend off that interest in Sheaf, although they have so far been unable to use him in the Championship this season due to injury.

Their rather lacklustre start to the campaign may perhaps highlight just how valuable he is to this side.

But just how much is Sheaf actually worth? And how does that compare to the rest of the Championship?

Coventry could demand a decent seven-figure fee for Ben Sheaf

As things stand, there are still two years remaining on Sheaf's contract with the Sky Blues, securing his future at the CBS Arena until the end of 2025/26.

That will give Coventry scope to negotiate any offers that come in for him when the transfer window reopens in January.

Meanwhile, at 26 years old, Sheaf also has time to develop and improve even further, which could make him even more important to a team in the future and pushes his value up further.

As a result, the Coventry midfielder currently has a market value of €7million - which works out at £5.9million - according to Transfermarkt.

On the basis of the site's figures, there are currently 37 players registered to a Championship club, who have a higher market value than the former Arsenal youngster.

That group of players valued higher than Sheaf does, however, not contain any of his current teammates at the CBS Arena.

However, there are 15 players in the Championship, including Sheaf, who are valued at €7million by these figures.

There are four other Coventry players who carry that valuation in Haji Wright, Ellis Simms, Milan van Elwijk, and Josh Eccles.

With that in mind, Sheaf can certainly be considered among the club's most valuable players, which will no doubt add to their desire to get him back out on the pitch sooner rather than later.