Wolves want Coventry City deal: West Brom and Stoke City must try hijack transfer | OneFootball

Ellis Simms could be leaving Coventry City for Wolves, but West Brom and Stoke City should look to get in ahead of them

As is often the case when a Championship club gets promoted to the Premier League, players deemed not ready for the step-up will often find themselves back where they started.

It's a ruthless business, and with it becoming harder and harder to stay in the top flight, and the luxury that comes with being in the elite league making it important to remain there, there's unfortunately no room for sentiment.

Last season's second-tier champions, Coventry City, are yet to offload anyone who played a key part in their success last year. In fact, they've made sure to sign a couple of loan stars from last season on permanent deals.

But with their league opener on the horizon this coming Friday at reigning champions Arsenal, it will only be a matter of time before Frank Lampard recognises which of his squad are ready to compete at the new level, and who will need to be offloaded by September 1.

Wolves eyeing move for Ellis Simms, but they shouldn't be the only ones

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According to Darren Witcoop, Coventry are expected to receive loan offers from Championship clubs this month for Ellis Simms, one of which could come from recently relegated Wolves.

With a striker core of Raul Jimenez and Adam Armstrong, Cesar Peixoto arguably doesn't need another top-level frontman, but the prospect of signing Simms could seem a little too good to turn down.

The 25-year-old excelled in more of a backup role last season. He only played just over 1,600 minutes across his 43 league appearances, but his 13 goals saw him record the second-best goals per 90 ratio in the division, behind Ross Stewart.

After a down year in the 2024/25 campaign where he massively underperformed his underlying numbers and scored just seven times in all competitions, he needed last year to almost put those worries to bed, and there's all the potential for him to improve even further this season.

Simms would be out to prove he can play in the Premier League if he is loaned out this summer, and earning another promotion with Wolves could be a good way to do so. However, with the 25-year-old's hunger to showcase his quality to his parent club, these two fellow Championship sides should be looking to capitalise.

West Brom

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The questions surrounding whether James Morrison would look to move away from the 4-4-2 that worked wonders for him during his interim spell were quickly answered throughout pre-season and in the first two games of the campaign.

The Scotsman is sticking with two up top, and with that will come the need for plenty of quality in reserve to help maintain play-off-challenging levels throughout a long 46-game campaign.

Jimmy-Jay Morgan, so far, looks to be one of the signings of the summer and has hit the ground running with a hatful of goals and assists in pre-season and in the first two competitive games of the campaign.

He's started alongside Aune Heggebo, who "scored" his first goal of the season on the opening day against Norwich City. If he can kick on in his second campaign at the Hawthorns, then West Brom could have a dangerous starting duo up top.

On the bench, though, there isn't assured quality. Barney Stewart looks to be a promising signing, and if given the opportunity, he could also make an impact, similarly to Morgan. Outside of that, it's not that strong.

Tammer Bany is the only other recognised striker at the Hawthorns, and injury issues have limited him to just over 100 minutes of league action in 18 months. Reports are saying he's on his way back to full fitness, but it's unclear if that can be relied on across the campaign.

Simms, in comparison, has missed just two league games with injury over the past three seasons and, as mentioned, thrived in a backup role last season, so could easily come on for either Heggebo or Morgan and maintain the levels needed to win games.

Stoke City

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Simms was brought to Coventry and scored 19 goals in his first season under current Stoke City boss Mark Robins, but that's not the only reason why the Potters should be in for the 25-year-old if he becomes available.

Stoke's striker core is very light and, to put it plainly, quite poor. Sam Gallagher started their opening-day defeat against Swansea City, and while he is a useful, experienced squad option for the level, he shouldn't be starting many games.

And the 30-year-old was replaced by Robert Bozenik, who played fewer than 850 league minutes in his debut campaign at the bet365 Stadium. He did score in the EFL Cup against Oldham Athletic, but overall, he is very unproven.

Stoke looked devoid of ideas when they were chasing the game against Swansea. Outside of Sorba Thomas, they carry little threat. Attacking options need to be the main focus in the final weeks of the transfer window, and Simms should be right at the top of the list.

The Potters would give the 25-year-old regular starting minutes under a manager he's already excelled under, which should appeal to him. If Thomas stays, too, he'll have one of the best wingers in the league supplying him with crosses, which will also help.

Stoke likely won't be in as strong a position to challenge for promotion this season compared to West Brom or Wolves, though. That could prove to be a drawback, but if Simms wants more minutes this season, he'd get that at the bet365 Stadium.