How much money Coventry City or Middlesbrough may have to pay MLS star Kevin Denkey in wages | OneFootball

The two Championship promotion rivals have been linked with a move for prolific FC Cincinnati striker Denkey ahead of the summer

The 2025-26 Championship season is by no means finished just yet, but it does not mean that clubs aren't already looking ahead to the summer transfer window.

And in some cases, second tier clubs will have multiple plans in place and irons in the fire depending on what division they will find themselves in come August 2026.

The automatic promotion race to the Premier League in particular is quite heated, with both Coventry City and Middlesbrough the top two as it currently stands - with the former on top right now thanks to beating the Teessiders last Monday at the CBS Arena, as well as adding to that with a victory over West Brom since.

Less than a week after the two clubs clashed, they are seemingly in the same transfer mix for one specific striker, who certainly knows where the back of the net is.

How much Coventry City or Middlesbrough would likely have to pay Kevin Denkey per week

As reported by Alan Nixon, both Cov and Boro are interested in FC Cincinnati striker Kevin Denkey, who was once the record transfer for the MLS.

In 2024, 44-cap Togo international centre-forward Denkey joined Cincinnati in a $16.2 million (currently converting at £12 million) deal from Cercle Brugge, who he'd fired in 66 goals for in 152 appearances in all competitions - that included a 28-goal haul in the 2023-24 season and 15 goals in 28 outings in his final half-season in Belgium.

Denkey arrived in Ohio with big expectations, and he would fire in 18 goals in his debut Cincinnati season in 2025, as they finished second in the Eastern Conference standings, even ahead of Lionel Messi's Inter Miami.

Inter would down Cincinnati and Denkey at the Eastern Conference play-offs semi-finals stage comprehensively, but the 2026 campaign has gotten off to the perfect start for both, with a 2-0 win over Atlanta United and a goal for 25-year-old Denkey in the 80th minute, which opened the scoring for the Orange and Blue.

Transfer rumours are already swirling around Denkey though, with the transfer window still a few months away from opening in England, and any interested clubs would likely have to pay a hefty salary for the African attacker.

With MLS salaries being public knowledge, Denkey's 2025 guaranteed salary was revealed to be the second-highest at the club at $3.81 million (£2.82 million) a year, which works out at $73,269 (£64,023) on a weekly basis.

As Denkey was signed as a Designated Player for Cincinnati, the majority of his wages do not count towards the franchise's salary cap, and he's on a contract until at least the end of 2029.

Premier League football will surely be needed to secure Kevin Denkey transfer for Coventry City or Middlesbrough

With Denkey on over £60,000 per week out in Cincinnati and one of the big stars of the MLS, it'll take not only a big transfer fee to take the Togolese striker away from the USA, but also a payrise too, you'd presume.

There were only 17 better-paid players in the MLS last season than Denkey, and ironically, one was ex-Middlesbrough striker Emmanuel Latte Lath, who didn't hit the ground running at Atlanta United after his 2025 move to Georgia.

Boro have David Strelec and Tommy Conway at the top end of the pitch, who you'd imagine they'd potentially have to improve on if they're going to make a go of things if promoted, whilst Coventry City have Haji Wright up-front - he's not played any of his career football in the MLS despite being a United States international, and it remains to be seen how he'd translate his game to the Premier League.

The likely salary Denkey would demand, presumably at least £70,000 per week, puts him out of financial range for Championship clubs, but the Premier League brings in a whole new set of parameters for clubs - Coventry and Boro already look to have him as a top potential target for June onwards.