Triple Coventry City boost may actually annoy £3.5m Sky Blues star | OneFootball

Coventry's recent contract extensions will continue to halt the progression of Kaine Kesler-Hayden

There was good news out of the Coventry City camp this week, as the Sky Blues announced the contract extensions of Milan van Ewijk, Jay Dasilva and Liam Kitching.

All three have played a key part in the Sky Blues side, who have challenged for the Championship title this season, and all had a year left on their current deals, meaning that Coventry have avoided losing either of them for free or on a pre-contract agreement in the future.

While Dasilva and Kitching have been great options for Frank Lampard over the past year that he's been in the dugout at the CBS Arena, the news of van Ewijk's extension will be more pleasing than his fellow teammates, as the 25-year-old was touted for a move elsewhere in the summer.

It looked certain that the talented right-back was going to make the step-up to a top-flight level team, with Bundesliga side Wolfsburg looking to be the side to take advantage, only for the deal to hit a stumbling block at the eleventh hour, which led to him remaining a Coventry player.

Now, he looks to be remaining at the CBS Arena for years to come, too, which will further frustrate one of their few summer additions even further.

Why Kaine Kesler-Hayden will hate recent Coventry City announcement

Coventry had seemingly planned for van Ewijk's departure, with Kaine Kesler-Hayden being brought in from Aston Villa well before the season started for £3.5 million.

Last season, the former England U20 international was one of the best right-backs in the division, playing all but two Championship games on loan at Preston North End and being one of the few bright sparks in the side that nearly succumbed to relegation.

After the Sky Blues fell in the Championship play-offs last season, there would have been internal expectations that some of their key names would depart in the summer, and bringing in Kesler-Hayden as the contingency plan for van Ewijk's departure was seen as smart business.

However, van Ewijk stayed, and now, all of a sudden, Frank Lampard had two of the better right-backs in the division in his ranks, and with only one spot to fill, Kesler-Hayden fell by the wayside.

Attempts to play them both together never really worked out. Coventry's first defeat of the season at Wrexham in October came when Kesler-Hayden replaced a suspended van Ewijk, and in 2026, the 23-year-old suffered an ankle injury on New Year's Day that slowed his opportunities even further.

Patience was seen to be the key here, though, as even though the Dutchman had remained a Coventry player after the summer transfer window, many just expected that he'd leave the following campaign, and Kesler-Hayden would just slot in one year later than he hoped.

A lot can change in half a year, though, and now it seems like van Ewijk can achieve his top-flight dreams in the Premier League with his current club, which led to him signing a new deal.

Kelser-Hayden, who has had his opportunities limited this season due to van Ewijk's presence, is now expected to be playing second fiddle for the foreseeable future.

Kaine Kesler-Hayden may look for another loan move next season

It's been a real shame to see the promise of Kesler-Hayden dim significantly from May last year to now, just nine months later.

There's clearly a player in there, as seen at Preston last season, but, through no fault of his own, and admittedly no fault of Coventry's either, who brought him in preparation for a departure that never came, he hasn't been able to showcase it, and will likely not be able to at the CBS Arena for the coming years, too.

Now, it's back to square one, and the 23-year-old may be looking to leave on loan once more, especially if the Sky Blues do secure promotion to the Premier League come May.

Whoever does manage to secure his services, whether that be short-term or long, if they can bring out what Preston did last season, then they'll have themselves a top-quality Championship full-back with a Premier League ceiling.

That ceiling has lowered somewhat over the past nine months, but there's no doubting that he'll be able to raise it once more at a different club next season.