Coventry City will be watching Blackburn Rovers now hoping there is no regret: View | OneFootball

Coventry City will be watching Blackburn Rovers now hoping there is no regret: View | OneFootball

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·9 January 2024

Coventry City will be watching Blackburn Rovers now hoping there is no regret: View

Article image:Coventry City will be watching Blackburn Rovers now hoping there is no regret: View

With the January transfer window now open, plenty of business is already being done between clubs.

While those will often involve a straight deal between two clubs, there can sometimes be a third involved, with players on loan at one team being recalled by their parent club, and despatched to another side.


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One player who has found himself completing such a deal in the early days of this month's market, is Brighton midfielder Yasin Ayari.

Ayari swaps Coventry for Blackburn

Back in the summer transfer window, Ayari completed a move away from Brighton on a temporary basis, joining Championship side Coventry City on loan.

The first half of the season then saw the midfielder make 13 appearances in all competitions for Mark Robins' side.

During that time, the 20-year-old found the net once, scoring in a 1-1 draw with Huddersfield Town towards the end of September.

However, Ayari's stint at the CBS Arena was brought to an end on Friday, when he was recalled with his loan spell with Coventry, by Brighton.

Following that, the Swede was immediately sent out on loan to another Championship side in the form of Blackburn Rovers, linking up with another Brighton loanee at Ewood Park, in Andy Moran.

In the circumstances, the decision to recall Ayari from Coventry and send him out on loan elsewhere, does seem to make sense. However, there may arguably be some nerves among the Sky Blues, that this could be a scenario that they live to regret.

Ayari could flourish for Blackburn at Coventry's expense

Of the 13 appearances that Ayari made for Coventry, only six came as a starter, and he did not feature once for the Sky Blues after the 2nd December.

As a result, that spell at Coventry was not exactly providing the midfielder with the experience and chance to develop that he needed for his career.

With that in mind, cancelling that loan spell and giving him the chance to get those opportunities elsewhere, in this case at Blackburn - where he made his debut as a late substitute in their FA Cup third round win over Cambridge on Saturday - does feel understandable.

Even so, from a Coventry point of view, there may be a chance that not playing Ayari more during his time with the club, could come back to haunt them.

Right now, Blackburn sit just five points behind Mark Robins' side in the Championship table, with 20 games of the regular league campaign remaining.

Consequently, there is plenty of time for Rovers to overhaul that deficit, and potentially damage the Sky Blues' own hopes of claiming a place in the Championship play-offs, for the second season in a row.

Indeed, there is also a possibility that Ayari could now potentially be able to do that. While things did not work out for him at Coventry, it does still seem as though the midfielder has a great deal of potential.

Already in his career, the 20-year-old has made a handful of Premier League appearances for Brighton, while he has also competed in the Europa Conference League with AIK in his home country.

Beyond that, even at such a young age, Ayari has already been capped at senior international level by Sweden.

As a result, the fact he has made such progress and played at such a level already, does seem to indicate the promise he offers, if the best can be brought out of him.

Furthermore, with Blackburn having somewhat surprisingly loaned out there captain - and fellow midfielder - Lewis Travis to Ipswich Town on the same day they signed Ayari, there may also be something of an increased reliance on the Brighton loanee to make a positive impact at Ewood Park.

If he can do that, then he could help Blackburn become an increased threat to Coventry, in the race for a top six spot during the second half of the season.

So with all that in mind, you get the feeling there may be some at Coventry City, casting nervous glances over to Ewood Park in the next few months, hoping that Blackburn are unable to get more out of Ayari, than they managed to during his time at the CBS Arena.

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