"I'm really excited" - Coventry City backed to beat Sheffield United to £9m transfer | OneFootball

Our Coventry fan pundit is hopeful his club can negotiate a cut-price deal

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Coventry City are reportedly eyeing up a record-breaking move for Hull City defender Charlie Hughes.

That’s according to Sky Sports journalist Rob Dorsett, who claims that the Sky Blues are considering a package that would total £9m.

Sheffield United are another club in the frame, according to The Star, but it is being consistently and widely reported that the Tigers don’t want to sell.

We asked our Coventry fan pundit, Chris Deez, whether his side splashing out on Hughes would be good value for money.

Coventry urged to be cautious with funds despite desperate centre-back need

Speaking to Football League World, Chris said: “Charlie Hughes is absolutely a player that I think we should be looking at, and I'm really excited that we've been linked with him.

“I've been saying for a few weeks, and especially after we sold Luis Binks, about how desperately we needed a centre-back, and I was sort of hoping that we'd go for somebody with more experience, like a seasoned, maybe lower-end Premier League player, the likes of Ben Mee and Craig Dawson came to mind.

“But even though Hughes is right down the other end of the age spectrum, he had a really good season at Hull in a defence that, despite them, very, very nearly getting relegated, they had one of the lowest amounts of goals conceded.

“So, he's obviously a very decent player. The season before that, he had a great season at Wigan, even managed to get a few goals and assists.

“Three-and-a-half million does seem fairly big money for a 21-year-old who's only played about four or five seasons professionally.

“But the other name that we've been linked with quite a lot is Callum Doyle, who we had on loan like two or three seasons ago.

“Really, really good player, very good in his position. He's quick, he's strong. But Man City are wanting £10million for him.

“They're both 21, Doyle's got a little bit more experience, played a bit more than Hughes.

“But I like to think that if we could offer maybe £4m-£5m and a bit of a sell-on percentage on there, then we might be able to get the deal done.

“Centre-back is absolutely the priority. It looks like we're on the verge of selling Milan van Ewijk as well, and we've already got his replacement in the club in [Kaine] Kesler-Hayden.

“So, I think any money that we get from Van Ewijk, I'd be quite happy if we put that towards a centre-back that we just desperately need now.

“We've only got two senior and fit centre-backs, only a matter of days before the season starts, which is obviously a concern.”

Coventry may find Hughes and Doyle similarly priced

While Chris remains confident in his club’s ability to negotiate a good price for either Hughes or Manchester City’s Callum Doyle, they may wind up coming in at similar price points, and neither will be cheap.

According to The Athletic, Pep Guardiola’s side are willing to let Doyle go for £10m, and while there may be some wiggle room, the Premier League side have a strong track record of selling their academy talent, attract plenty of suitors for each young player they put up for sale and will be in no rush to sell.

Coincidentally, £10m is also Hull’s starting point for offers for Hughes, according to Dorsett’s report, despite the fact they don’t want to sell.

Hull paid £3.5m for Hughes just last year, tying him down to a four-year contract with the option of an additional year, so will only be forced into a sale if their valuation is met or the player moves to try and force a sale through, which would be surprising for another Championship side not guaranteed to be fighting at the very top of the league.

In both Hughes and Doyle, Coventry could land some of the brightest young defensive talent England has produced in recent years, but they have little leverage for either deal.

Nevertheless, if Coventry do offer the £9m package Dorsett reports they are considering tabling for Hughes, they may well give Hull something to think about.