"Will speak for itself" - Coventry City verdict on £8m transfer fee | OneFootball

FLW's Coventry City fan pundit has weighed in on Ellis Simms' transfer cost to the club

Ellis Simms has struggled to maintain his positive goalscoring form from last year with Coventry City.

The American bagged 13 for the Sky Blues in the Championship last season, as the team narrowly missed out on a play-off place, and six in the FA Cup in their run to the semi-finals.

It was reported that Coventry paid £8 million to sign the forward in the summer of 2023 but other sources have claimed the initial price was only £3.5 million.

He enjoyed a positive debut campaign at the CBS Arena – albeit there were concerns at points about his form in front of goal – but it’s been a more difficult second term, with the striker scoring just twice from 14 appearances in the second division.

This has led some to speculate whether the size of the fee paid to sign him was ultimately worthwhile for the club.

Ellis Simms transfer fee verdict

When asked whether the club overspent with the signing of Simms, FLW’s Coventry fan pundit Ryan Murphy suggested otherwise.

He claimed the upfront fee was only £3 million, with the rest due in add-ons based on promotion to the Premier League, indicating that this has been a reasonable cost for his arrival.

“Regarding Ellis Simms, he’s very hit and miss,” Murphy told Football League World.

“However, it’s been quoted in the media, £8-9 million that we paid for him, which is way off the mark.

“We paid £3 million up front and the rest is add-ons.

“If we get to the Premier League, it rises up to over £8 million.

“Now, if we get to the Premier League with Ellis Simms and if he does go to £8-9 million, then he’s done his job. It’ll be a justified transfer.

“If we stay in the Championship, we’ve only paid £3 million for him and for £3 million, for a striker like him who scored a lot of goals last season, he hasn’t really been able to sustain it this year.

“But if he gets a run, gets a bit of confidence and goals, you know he’s capable of scoring a few. He’s still a good age too.

“For £3 million, he’s a great signing. As I said, if we get promoted, the transfer will speak for itself because he’ll have done his job and with it our end goal.

“So, again it would be justified. No problems with that at all.”

Ellis Simms’ importance to Coventry

Simms initially garnered a lot of attention at this level during his brief loan spell with Sunderland in the first half of the 2022/23 campaign, where he contributed seven goals and two assists from 17 league appearances.

This led to his move to Coventry in the summer of 2023, where he became a key part of Mark Robins’ first team plans, appearing in all 46 of their league fixtures.

He registered 13 goals, the second most of anyone in the squad, with only Haji Wright’s 16 being higher.

While he hasn’t been firing on all cylinders so far this term, there is still time for him to turn things around, especially with a new manager set to join the club after Robins’ dismissal.

Difficult start to the season for Simms is hurting Coventry

If Coventry were going to push for promotion this season then they needed Simms to make a great start to the campaign.

Instead, the forward is struggling in front of goal and is not contributing what you’d expect from a forward in a promotion-chasing team.

While the £3 million fee is more reasonable than the £8 million it could rise to, his performances this year have been underwhelming regardless.