Doug King told to take Coventry City transfer action & sent clear free agent message | OneFootball

FLW's Sky Blues fan pundit feels that the side needs more bodies in the midfield, out wide and up top if they are to remain competitive

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...

In terms of player incomings, it was an incredibly quiet summer transfer window for Coventry City.

Their biggest purchase arguably was their home stadium, as Doug King ensured that the Sky Blues own the CBS Arena for the foreseeable future, but that may have come at the cost of bolstering the squad.

Indeed, Coventry arguably didn't need too many upgrades to their existing starting eleven, as the likes of Milan van Ewijk, Jack Rudoni and Haji Wright, who all have top-flight qualities, remained at the club, but a player or two extra to boost the bench may have been necessary.

In defence, the Sky Blues added sufficiently with Kaine Kesler-Hayden and Luke Woolfenden, but in midfield they arguably got weaker, after they failed to replace Ben Sheaf after he left for Wrexham for £6.5 million on deadline day.

Therefore, additions in January are paramount for Football League World's Coventry fan pundit, Chris Deez, especially given that the likes of Ephron Mason-Clark and Jack Rudoni are currently facing a few weeks on the sidelines in the early stages of the campaign.

Coventry City fan pundit demands squad additions in January

It may be three months until Coventry can buy players again, but after a summer window which left the Sky Blues with a "thin squad," Deez is eager for the squad to be added to when the winter window opens.

"I think we absolutely need to invest in the squad in the January transfer window," Deez said.

"I was very vocal over the summer about our lack of activity, especially on deadline day when we sold Ben Sheaf for an amazing £6.5 million. Don't get me wrong, but we didn't replace him.

"We brought in Woolfenden from Ipswich Town, so we're well sorted at the back — we have more defenders and wing-backs than we know what to do with at the moment — but we're light in midfield.

"Losing Sheaf was a blow, but Lampard has plenty of faith in his back-up midfielders to be able to fill each role in the middle three sufficiently. For Deez, whilst sufficient may be fine, he wants the quality throughout the side to maintain when certain players drop out through injury.

"As much as I like Josh Eccles, he's no Rudoni, and now that he's out for two to three weeks [...] I don't feel like Eccles slots into that role and contributes in the same way as Rudoni does with goals and assists," Deez continued.

"It shows all the people who, in the summer, felt we didn't need to bring any more players in, because the stadium was the greatest signing we ever made, and whilst it is, it doesn't hide the fact that we've got a very thin squad.

"So we do need one, maybe two central midfielders, ideally creative ones too, as we seem to be fine with defensive ones with Eccles and [Matt] Grimes."

Coventry City fan pundit also issues demand for attacking additons

Top of Deez's shopping list is a creative midfielder who can easily slot in for Rudoni if the talented 24-year-old suffers an injury, but just below that is a winger and a striker, as he feels that Ellis Simms is too inconsistent to be a reliable back-up.

"We still need to pick up a back-up striker who scores goals," Deez stated. "Simms shows glimpses of magic maybe once a month, but he doesn't score goals.

"He should've scored against Birmingham City, but he didn't, and whilst he did help set up Torp's goal, I find it incredibly worrying that, if Haji Wright gets injured, it's Simms who is replacing him."

Brandon Thomas-Asante would be the ideal back-up for the free-scoring American, but the former West Brom attacker is currently deputising on the wing in place of Mason-Clark.

"I'd say Thomas-Asante, but he's having to play out wide, so now as soon as Rudoni and Mason-Clark have gotten injured, we're now having to scramble to see who can fill those spots," he said.

"Therefore, we could ideally do with a back-up winger, too, as if Tatsuhiro Sakamoto gets injured, we've already let Raphael go out on loan to Wigan Athletic! It was a very strange window."

Deez hopes that Doug King will bolster the side in the winter window, but his track record states that he doesn't like to operate through loan signings. Their only loanee in the squad is their starting goalkeeper, Carl Rushworth.

As fees are usually higher in January, it can be difficult to bring in players permanently, so the fan pundit hopes that his owner will operate through different means.

"Doug King has made it clear in the past that he doesn't like loan players, so I really hope that he dips into the free agent market, because there are loads available who wouldn't even be on mega wages," he concluded.