The £15.7m reason why Coventry City shouldn't reignite interest in West Brom star: Opinion | OneFootball

Highlights

Coventry City held an interest in West Bromwich Albion's John Swift during the latter stages of the summer transfer window, according to Tom Collomosse.

Talks had commenced between the two teams according to the same reporter, but they didn't progress particularly far with Albion valuing him at a high price.

Signing a three-year contract last year, he still had around two years left on his deal at the time Coventry took an interest in him, which gave the Baggies the opportunity to demand a high fee for his services.

The ex-Reading man has been a key player for Albion since his arrival at The Hawthorns, so you can understand why Carlos Corberan's side weren't prepared to let him leave for cheap.

And the Baggies would be strengthening a potential promotion rival if they had sold Swift to the Sky Blues, so this deal wouldn't have made sense for the Midlands outfit unless Mark Robins' side were prepared to pay top dollar for him.

With Callum O'Hare still out of action, Swift seems to have been targeted as a potential advanced midfield option, a position which he has thrived in during his career.

But O'Hare may return before the January transfer window as he continues his recovery from his long-term injury setback, so it remains to be seen whether they reignite their interest in the Albion man.

Why might Coventry City be tempted to reignite their interest in John Swift?

Swift is now an experienced player at this level and has shown consistently that he can be a real asset in the Championship.

With the Sky Blues losing Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer in the summer, they will want all the firepower they can get and Swift is someone who can provide that from midfield.

Not only can he play in an advanced midfield role, but he can also operate in a deeper position and on the wing if required, with his versatility likely to be a real positive if he did arrive at the Coventry Building Society Arena.

And Robins' side would be weakening a potential promotion rival and strengthening themselves if they did get a deal over the line for him during the next window.

Why Coventry City should not sign John Swift during the January transfer window

When the winter window does open though, Swift may not be required because O'Hare and Kasey Palmer may both be fit, even if both are currently on the sidelines at the moment. And ideally for Robins' side, they would play two up top for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, they will want to keep Matt Godden firmly in their first-team plans because he has shone for much of this campaign.

As well as this, it can't be forgotten that Coventry spent £7.7m on Haji Wright and could pay up to £8m for Ellis Simms, with both coming in during the summer window.

With this £15.7m spend in mind, Coventry will surely want to be starting two up front consistently to allow both to flourish and potentially be sold on for more in the future.

Even if one of Simms or Wright is injured, Godden can be a real asset up top.

And if the Sky Blues are playing two up top, that may leave room for only one playing to fill the advanced midfield role.

If both O'Hare and Palmer are available, Swift's game time could potentially be limited, so it's probably not worth the Sky Blues reigniting their interest in the latter unless there are departures or further injury setbacks in this department.