Doug King drops hint on what Coventry City's Premier League transfer plans will look like | OneFootball

The Sky Blues won't be splashing the cash unwittingly this summer ahead of their Premier League return

Coventry City are set to return to the Premier League for the first time since the 2000/01 campaign, after their promotion and champion status were confirmed in the past week.

The Sky Blues are set to lift the second-tier title on Sunday in their final home match against Wrexham, and then, after their final day trip to Watford, all the focus will be on preparing for the top-flight.

It's been seen in the past that newly promoted sides have had to buy almost an entire new team to meet the increased demands of the Premier League. Last summer, play-off winners Sunderland spent £156.5 million on 15 new arrivals. Nottingham Forest signed 21 new faces ahead of their top-flight return in 2022.

With the Sky Blues undergoing a long, laborious journey to get back to the Premier League, a journey which has seen them drop all the way down to League Two and play home games in Birmingham, those in the stands at the CBS Arena won't be wanting their return to last for a solitary campaign.

Therefore, the onus is on strengthening where needed this summer. Something which owner Doug King is willing to do, but he's taking a calculated approach to doing so.

Coventry City don't need to spend "zillions and trillions" to improve, according to Doug King

With Coventry by far and away the best team in the Championship this season, Doug King feels that their position to transition into the Premier League is a stronger one than the two sides they will come up with.

That doesn't mean that there won't be a need to spend, but the Sky Blues owner admitted to BBC Coventry and Warwickshire that splashing the cash with no consequence won't be the way to keep the club from dropping straight back down into the Championship.

"We're trying to work out a philosophy, of which I take a lot of input," he said. "Ultimately, we will decide on what our strategy is going to be, and then we will tell no one, and we will try to quietly, stealthily get on top of it to try and give us any and every advantage to be successful in the top league.

"It's taken us a long time to get there. Obviously, we have beaten two teams who will join us, so we have only got to beat one more, if we can beat them again next year, right? If you put it like that.

"I'm embracing it, the team's embracing it, it's exciting, it's a challenge. We had a challenge to get out of the Championship [...], and now the next one is to challenge ourselves to see what we can do in the top league."

Doug King will be looking to do everything in his power to give Coventry the best opportunities to succeed next season, but he'll be doing so by looking to bring in the best value-for-money players.

"What you're saying in 'do what it takes' is to spend zillions and trillions of dollars, is sort of what you're angling at," he continued. "People spend money very badly at times. I would say what we do is look for value.

"A very expensive footballer might still be value, there are a lot of footballers who are very expensive but who are not value.

"We will do what we've got to do, but don't associate staying in the league and being successful just with how many dollars you throw out of the door. I think that would be a mistake."

Coventry City's transfer strategy is a smart, risk-free one

A lot of the staff and decision makers at Coventry are heading into uncharted territory, and it would be unwise to go straight in headfirst to try to upgrade each and every position with the highest-profile name possible.

Look at Leeds United this year. Granted, their squad, which won the Championship last season, was stronger than what Coventry's is now, but they still strengthened where necessary and didn't spend more than £20 million on one signing.

The likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha have been great additions to Daniel Farke's squad, and they both arrived at Elland Road for free. They may not have had any monetary value, but they added value to the squad ahead of the campaign.

Perhaps Doug King will be looking at doing something similar; retooling and upgrading where necessary, but without bringing in players who break the bank. That way, if Coventry do suffer immediate relegation, they won't be in a position of financial insecurity and would be in a good place to bounce straight back.

But it could go the other way, and the players who do end up joining Frank Lampard's side contribute to them staying up, increasing their value from that. Then, knowing they would be in a position to establish themselves in the top flight, they could add more big-money signings in 2027.