Transfer plea issued to Doug King at Coventry City - "Exactly what we need" | OneFootball

FLW’s Coventry City fan pundit has commented on the Sky Blues leading the race to sign Brentford midfielder Frank Onyeka.

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…

Coventry City remain in a sticky patch of form as they aim to keep their place at the summit of the Championship table.

The Sky Blues had been on a run of four second-tier games without a win, but appeared to have arrested the slide when they turned a one-goal deficit around to beat Millwall at the CBS Arena.

From that, Coventry were expected to motor on and start putting a run of wins together, but the roles were reversed from what happened against the Lions, with Frank Lampard’s men surrendering a one-goal lead themselves, to go down 2-1 against Norwich City at Carrow Road on Monday evening.

Romaine Esse had made it two goals in as many games for Coventry since linking up on loan from Crystal Palace, but second half goals from Canaries duo Ben Slimane and Ali Ahmed turned the tide in Norfolk.

That result leaves Coventry eight points clear in the race for the top two, but they are in danger of losing their place at the top as Middlesbrough sit only three points behind them in second place.

There will be concern that such a dip in form could derail their automatic promotion bid entirely, meaning that the remainder of the winter transfer window could be pivotal to addressing certain areas of the squad to get the team back on track.

One of those additions could come in midfield, with Sky Sports reporting that Coventry are leading the race over Birmingham City and Sheffield United to sign Brentford midfielder Frank Onyeka, with both loan and permanent moves believed to have been discussed.

With this in mind, FLW’s Coventry City fan pundit has reacted to the news and outlined the impact the Nigerian international can make if his move to the CBS Arena gets over the line.

Doug King concern outlined as Coventry City lead the way for Frank Onyeka signing

Speaking to Football League World, Coventry City fan pundit Chris Deez has urged Sky Blues owner Doug King to pay what is owed to bring Frank Onyeka to the club, with concern emerging that Coventry could get beaten to the signing as both Birmingham City and Sheffield United will be prepared to spend more money.

Chris also admits it’s vital Coventry add Onyeka to the midfield department to help limit the mistakes being made in the middle of the park that has contributed to their lapse of form in recent weeks.

Chris told FLW: “I would be absolutely over the moon if we signed Frank Onyeka. I think 99% of our fanbase would be.

“There are a couple of other teams interested, Birmingham and Sheffield United, who can probably pay him more, but it seems we are leading the race for him, which is fantastic.

“He’s exactly what we need. I’m not going to pretend that he’s a player that I’ve been religiously following for years, but knowing him well enough from his time at Brentford, he’s got quite a lot of Premier League experience, more than anyone else in our squad, and at 28, he would be the second or third-oldest player in the squad, so that can only be a good thing, not only the Premier League experience but just the football experience in general as we’ve got quite a young squad.

“In terms of what he gives to the team, he’s exactly what we need in the middle of the pitch. Our biggest problem, especially in the last four or five games, which has been really noticeable, even when we’ve won, is that we leave such massive spaces in the middle of the field.

“I absolutely adore Grimes, I adore Eccles, adore Torp, but for some reason, over the last month or two, it’s just completely fallen apart in the middle of the pitch, nobody can really explain it.

“I think we just need a cool head, someone who has that experience, and if we do get promoted, he would be a great player to already have in the ranks ready for the Premier League.

“It looks like he had a really good tournament for Nigeria at AFCON. He had a pretty good season out on loan in Germany at Augsburg last season, featured a little bit for Brentford this season, only about half a dozen games so you can understand why he wants away, but I hope his head isn’t turned by more money at the other clubs that are willing to spend more.

“It’s the one thing I don’t like about Doug King is that he won’t pay what needs to be paid to get us where we want to be.”

Coventry City need to wrap up Frank Onyeka deal quickly

It’s positive for all connected with Coventry City to see the Sky Blues leading the way to sign Frank Onyeka, and you can’t be at all surprised given what an attractive project it is under Frank Lampard.

Despite a period of rocky form, Coventry remain at the top of the Championship table, with Onyeka getting the opportunity to play regular football in a winning side and setting his sights on making his mark in the Premier League the following year, should the club go on to gain promotion to the big time.

Meanwhile, it’s clear Coventry’s midfield line needs help, with the current regular first-team assets being pushed to the limit due to the sheer relentlessness of the Championship.

An extra addition would allow other options to get some much-needed rest in order to attack the remainder of the campaign, while Onyeka’s extensive period playing at some of the top levels, matched with his leadership qualities, can help galvanise the squad and help get them over the line to seal promotion.

Of course, the longer the saga drags on, the longer you feel either one of Sheffield United or Birmingham City could swoop in with a sizeable offer, so Coventry need to strike while the iron is hot and show their willingness to land a player who really wants to make a name for himself at the CBS Arena.

A deal for Onyeka would be a massive statement of intent, and it should be an arrival that really excites the Sky Blues faithful given his previous pedigree and ability to perform at the top end of the game.