Callum Wilson to Coventry City? Wages issue raised as West Ham exit nears | OneFootball

FLW's Coventry City Fan Pundit has weighed in on the potential return of Callum Wilson to the CBS Arena.

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 have had a busy start to the January transfer window, with the arrivals of Romain Esse and Yang Min-Hyeok strengthening Frank Lampard's side in the wide areas.

The Sky Blues remain at the top of the Championship table, although they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Stoke City at the weekend. Nevertheless, it's been a campaign to remember so far.

With promotion to the Premier League the sole focus now for the West Midlands outfit, bringing in new talent has been at the forefront of owner Doug King's mind, and a reunion with former striker Callum Wilson has been touted.

While Lampard has played down rumours of Wilson's return, his top flight reputation would potentially make him a strong addition, but one Coventry fan has sided with his club's head coach.

Coventry City fan explains why Callum Wilson will not join

West Ham United are in talks to terminate the contract of Wilson, just five months after he signed for the club. However, his next club remains somewhat of an unknown, with TWTD reporting that Ipswich Town are also interested.

The 33-year-old made his way through the academy at the Sky Blues, but Football League World's Coventry Fan Pundit, Chris Deez, does not believe a move for the striker would be possible. He said: "I absolutely love Callum Wilson. I've supported him everywhere he's gone in his career since he left Coventry. I like to think a lot of Cov fans are the same as me and I would obviously love to see him play for us.

"But there are a few reasons that it's probably not going to happen. I think first of all, wages. We pay £25k/£35k at most for our top earners and as much as he likes Coventry City as a club, I don't see him taking at least a 50% pay cut to come and play here.

"Obviously, his injury record, a lot's been made of that. He seemed to do fine for West Ham, scored a good few goals and looked to be getting back to his best. So, I'm not really sure why they're even terminating the contract. There's obviously something's gone wrong there."

Chris continued to tell FLW: "But as good as he is, I don't think he'd come in and be a regular starter for us. I don't see him playing two, three games a week for us in the Championship.

"It'd be a lovely fairy-tale. People were saying a while back that he claimed he wanted to retire at Coventry to see out his playing days here, but I've not seen anything that backs that up."

Callum Wilson's age makes a move questionable

While Coventry have had a disappointing start to 2026, there is no denying their quality and a place in the Premier League will be theirs if they are able to turn their form around in the next few weeks.

However, although Wilson does have plenty of experience in the top flight, he is not quite hitting the heights that he once did in the division, and at 33, he is unlikely to improve.

Brandon Thomas-Asante's injury has left Lampard in a relatively tough position in terms of his transfer decisions in January, but a move for the nine-time capped England international would be a short-term and expensive fix.

Therefore, it seems unlikely that Coventry will bring the striker back to his hometown club, and the fairy-tale return may have to wait.