Coventry City eyeing €40m Juventus star - Leeds United transfer threat looms | OneFootball

Coventry City have turned to an ambitious potential raid of Juventus in their post-promotion squad-building efforts under Doug king

It's now full steam ahead for Coventry City after lifting the 2025/26 Championship title, with a significant summer transfer mission awaiting popular owner Doug King as he bids to prepare the Sky Blues for life back in the Premier League.

Coventry have been, quite simply, a class apart in the Championship for large parts of the season under Frank Lampard, officially wrapping up the title with two games to spare with a rousing 5-1 victory over Portsmouth on April 21.

The Sky Blues have now ended a 25-year exile from the Premier League but, once the dust settles, they will know that much work is required in order to compete in the top-tier of English football once again.

King has frequently discussed Coventry's transfer plans heading into the summer window and a series of players have already been linked with moves to the CBS Arena, including ex-Sky Blues playmaker James Maddison, Manchester United star Mason Mount and Middlesbrough's 2025/26 Championship Player of the Season winner Hayden Hackney, whereas on-loan goalkeeper Carl Rushworth remains in advanced discussions to make his move from Brighton and Hove Albion a permanent one.

The rumour mill is well and truly underway, and though City's key decision-makers will have their own secretly-listed transfer targets away from the media eye, the second-tier title winners are now being linked with a shock raid of Italian giants Juventus in what would represent a head-turning capture.

Coventry City eyeing shock Juventus, Lois Openda transfer raid

With Coventry reportedly preparing to set their sights on Turin, it has emerged that the player in question is Belgian forward Lois Openda as talk of his exit from Italy continues to intensify following a debut campaign of pronounced difficulty with the 36-time Serie A champions.

As claimed by Sport Witness - via Italian outlet Gazetta dello Sport - Coventry have launched what is described as "initial contact" regarding the 26-year-old's situation at Juventus.

Openda joined Juventus on loan from RB Leipzig on the final day of the summer transfer window deal which presented a future €40 million (£34.5 million) purchase option for the Old Lady. That clause has since come into play a number of weeks ago after Juventus, who are currently positioned in fourth-place, met the conditional obligation of confirming their place inside the top-half of the league standings.

Despite Openda being set to sign permanently for Juventus, however, it appears as though the Old Lady will explore options to move the speedy striker on this summer.

The report adds that Juventus are aware that they will face difficulty in finding a permanent buyer for Openda, who has scored on just two occasions from 34 appearances across all competitions this term and has played only five minutes of football across his side's last eight league matches, which has led to Coventry being "handed the opportunity" of sealing an "initial loan deal" instead.

It's unclear whether any potential move for the Openda would include an option or obligation to buy, though this is seemingly a deal that Coventry are exploring and it could represent something of a statement signing if the 33-cap Belgian international could rediscover his goalscoring touch in the West Midlands.

Openda garnered attention across the continent after guiding Lens to a shock second-place finish during the 2022/23 Ligue 1 campaign, which prompted a move to UEFA Champions League regulars RB Leipzig in July 2023.

The gifted attacker scored 28 goals and provided a further seven assists during his opening campaign in east Germany, but struggled for consistency last time out by finding the back of the net only nine times in the Bundesliga before moving to Juventus on loan.

Coventry City may face Leeds United transfer threat with Juventus' Lois Openda

One key threat that Coventry may well face if they advance their pursuit of Openda is competition from rival clubs, with Leeds United having also been linked to the out-of-favour Juventus man in recent times.

The Whites' top-flight status for the 2026/27 campaign is all-but-sealed following a remarkable turnaround under Daniel Farke in the second-half of the season and a recent report from Football Insider has linked the West Yorkshire side, alongside AFC Bournemouth and Rennes, with a move for Openda as he prepares to leave Juventus in the months to come.

His next destination may well be decided by who can propose the most appealing offering to Juventus, who would surely welcome any proposal with a purchase obligation, although how the likes of Coventry and Leeds feel about that remains somewhat unclear.

Leeds are reportedly eager to seal a loan move with an option to buy, which is what Coventry may just have to match or eclipse if they want to bring the Belgian to the CBS Arena to aid their survival push.