Coventry City have one advantage in race to sign Carl Rushworth permanently | OneFootball

The Sky Blues will hope they've got enough to win the race for Rushworth's permanent signature

Coventry City's 25-year exile from the Premier League has almost reached its conclusion, and promotion will also unlock a new level of financial rewards which have bypassed the Sky Blues for some time.

Just eight years ago, the Sky Blues were playing their football in League Two, but have risen from the foot of the EFL to their current position through years of meticulous planning and huge success in the transfer market.

The most obvious examples of this are the vast amount of profit which City made on both Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer three years ago, with a fair size of the funds they received going towards a rebuild under Mark Robins, and now Frank Lampard is on the cusp of being the major beneficiary of such a major transformation as his team sit several points clear at the top of the Championship.

After kickstarting a strong run of momentum in the opening weeks and months of his tenure at the CBS Arena, which began in November 2024, the ex-Chelsea and England icon chose quality over quantity in both transfer windows this season, in particular, when reassembling his defensive department last summer.

At this point, though, no signing has arguably been more pivotal for the 47-year-old than the loan acquisition of Carl Rushworth from Brighton and Hove Albion.

Following Oliver Dovin's serious injury at Sheffield United 13 months ago, it was imperative the Sky Blues sourced, at least, an initial replacement with strong quality in the Championship.

Rushworth had previously showcased he fell into said category at Swansea City in particular, and now it feels inevitable that, in some way, he will be a Premier League regular next season.

And, although it remains to be seen whether that comes through a permanent stay in CV6, Coventry will be hoping to use one key factor to their advantage in what looks set to be an intriguing summer saga.

Carl Rushworth has built an extremely strong rapport with Coventry City and the club's supporters

The 24-year-old has bounced back from a mixed spell on loan at Hull City last term to become the standout shot-stopper in the Championship this time around.

Including a run of five games without conceding between September and October 2025, no Championship goalkeeper boasts a better clean sheet record than the Halifax-born man, who is also leading the way when it comes to goal prevention, as well as having one of the best save percentages in the division.

After previously earning one cap at Under-21s level, it has been claimed twice this term that the Seagulls loanee has been on the periphery of earning a first senior Three Lions call-up, which could have also come before his first senior appearance for the South Coast side.

Given the fact he has never been handed an opportunity at the AMEX Stadium, Rushworth's immediate future has been the subject of constant speculation in recent weeks, with it being claimed that any interested parties would have to part with a fee between £15m and £20m.

However, Sky Blues fans will be hoping his affinity with the club may just swing the pendulum in their favour when it comes to striking a deal.

"It's got a real family feel to it, and everybody really cares about how you're doing on a personal level. Everything has just been the next step up from what I expected. I wasn't expecting anything bad, because Grimesy (Matt Grimes) was boasting about it here from the start, and I trust his opinion, but I've fallen in love with the club and Coventry," Rushworth recently stated.

"It helps when we're playing so well, it's hard to see many negatives. I would never have known I could come to a place that would tick as many boxes as this, I love everything about this place."

Coventry City and Carl Rushworth would both benefit from permanent Brighton transfer

Given the fact City have gone through a handful of goalkeepers in recent times, including Ben Wilson, Brad Collins, Dovin and now Rushworth, it is no surprise the club are hoping to secure a permanent deal, something they couldn't quite manage in the summer window.

Those developments may also prove to Rushworth just how much he was valued before the remarkable season which he has since enjoyed, and it would also provide the goalkeeper with a first form of continuity for several years after numerous EFL loan spells.

The main difficulties which stand in the way of that happening, though, are whether Coventry are to be financially outmuscled by any forthcoming competitors, and how Brighton feel about striking a permanent deal, with Bart Verbruggen also the subject of exit talk from the AMEX as things stand.