Exclusive: What Don Goodman has said on Haji Wright potentially leaving Coventry City | OneFootball

Speaking exclusively with FLW, Don Goodman has been discussing the future of Sky Blues star Haji Wright.

Expectations were sky-high for Haji Wright as soon as he became a Coventry City player in the 2023 summer transfer window.

Signed for a club-record fee of £7.7m from Turkish side Antalyaspor, the USA international smashed Coventry's previous transfer record that had stood for 23 years, when they signed Craig Bellamy for £6.5m in August 2000.

The forward penned a four-year contract at the CBS Arena, and as such, it was hoped that by the end of that agreement that the then-25-year-old would have fired the Sky Blues back to the Premier League.

As of yet, that hasn't happened, but that hasn't been for a lack of effort. Indeed, Wright has two double-digit scoring seasons to his name, and the club fell agonisingly short of reaching the Championship play-off final this past season.

"It all depends on..." - Don Goodman makes Coventry City, Haji Wright transfer claim

Speaking exclusively with Football League World, we asked Sky Sports pundit and former player, Don Goodman: 'Do you think it's vital Coventry keep Haji Wright this summer, or if the price was right, should the Sky Blues welcome a sale?'

Goodman said: "I think with Haji Wright, it's all about the price. Every player has their price where a club would sell them.

"So, I think it all depends on how far somebody would be willing to go. It was a disappointing end to the season, there's no doubt about it.

"He only scored one goal in the last eight games, including the two play-off games against Sunderland, and he didn't really turn up in those big games and have the impact that somebody of his ability you would hope would have.

"So based on that, maybe Coventry would be prepared to accept a high bid and try and reinvest. But there's no doubt about it, if you can get the best version of Haji Wright on a consistent basis in the Championship, he's got all the tools to be right up there amongst the top scorers.

"So it's a nice problem for Coventry to have, really."

If Frank Lampard and Coventry City aren't in rebuild mode, that could secure Haji Wright's Sky Blues future

24/25 showed just how close Coventry City are to becoming a Premier League club once again, and that should tell Frank Lampard that major changes to the playing squad probably aren't needed this summer.

Instead, the Sky Blues will likely be heading down the quality over quantity route once again this summer, in the hopes that a couple of impactful additions on top of retaining the services of key contributors such as Jack Rudoni, will finally see them get over the promotion line next season.

If City had numerous loan players returning to their parent clubs, and nailed on departures of star players, then cashing in on Wright could make a lot of sense in order to fund a major rebuild of the squad.

However, neither of those things appear to be true, and certainly in the case of loan players needing to be replaced, as Coventry didn't sign any last season.

Therefore, with the club fresh off the back of going tantalisingly close to winning promotion, and with a playing squad that is made up of their own contracted players, confidence will be high that they can go one better next year.

As such, they know they have a winning formula and a team that, perhaps with a different bounce of the ball here and there and some specific upgrades made this summer, is good enough to end their top flight exile.

So, the Sky Blues will surely feel more inclined to keep one of their talismanic players in Wright this summer, rather than potentially cashing in when they're in 'win-now' mode anyway.