Ellis Simms tipped for possible Coventry City exit - Swansea and Birmingham City must be on alert | OneFootball

FLW's Sky Blues fan pundit believes the striker could depart if they are promoted

With Coventry City putting themselves in a strong position to achieve a first return to the Premier League in 25 years, discourse has already begun regarding a potential squad overhaul of sorts to enable a strong chance of consolidation for Frank Lampard and his side.

Having previously fallen short of promotion through the Championship play-offs in both 2023 and 2025 at the hands of Luton Town and Sunderland, the Sky Blues have led the way for the vast majority of the campaign when it comes to the promotion race, and many are now seeing it as a question of 'when' rather than 'if' the joyous moment is secured for the club.

One of the main reasons behind City's ascent towards the top-flight has been the creative spark and clinical edge in front of goal possessed by a multitude of Lampard's attacking options, with the exploits of Brandon Thomas-Asante and USMNT international forward, Haji Wright, certainly generating a fair portion of headlines.

Ellis Simms has also put forward some key contributions to the cause, with the 25-year-old already making it into double-figures for the season despite seeing starting appearances come few and far between.

Despite there being mixed reports on the fee City parted with to secure his services on a four-year contract from Everton in July 2023, Simms has since gone on to make over 130 appearances for the club, although Football League World's Coventry City fan pundit, Chris Deez, has claimed that the striker could depart the CBS Arena if promotion is wrapped up.

"It's a bit of a tricky one this, because obviously, you want to draw a line between sentiment and having a squad that's good enough to stay up in the Premier League," he said.

"My heart says keep all of this squad around, apart from a couple of the fringe players in the Premier League, because they're the ones who got us there, and it was a 25-year wait, so these players, this squad, are going to go down as Coventry legends.

"But then, at the same time, we're going to need all the money, all the funds that we can get in the Premier League and I think given how well Simms has done for us over the last couple of seasons, even though he's been inconsistent, his form has been indifferent, there's no reason why we couldn't sell a promotion winning striker for double what we paid.

"We should be able to get at least £6m to £8m for Simms for any Premier League team that gets relegated to the Championship this season or any team coming up. You know, you've got your Birmingham's and your Wrexham's that have got infinite money to spend now," Deez added.

With that in mind, FLW have looked at two clubs who could be on red alert to this potential scenario.

Swansea City

Swansea City's current campaign has been one of inconsistency under two different head coaches, although there is hope that Vitor Matos can be the man to oversee a long-term upsurge in fortunes in this part of South Wales.

Next season will be the Portuguese's first full campaign in charge of the Swans, allowing his players to further aclimatise to his methods in a bid to potentially challenge for the play-off places.

However, such developments could also hinge on the whereabouts of Slovenian hotshot, Zan Vipotnik, who has enjoyed an exceptional individual campaign.

The 23-year-old has been top of the scoring charts for a fair portion of the season and, unsurprisingly, had attracted interest from West Ham United and Serie A sides in the lead-up to the winter window.

Interest is expected to be strong in Vipotnik's services this summer too, and that Swansea value their key man at £15m minimum amid links to Rangers, Sunderland and Nottingham Forest.

Those funds could be reinvested into the playing squad as well as finding an adequate replacement. Simms certainly fits that bill, having hit double-figures in two of his three seasons for the Sky Blues, as well as a prior loan spell with Sunderland where he bagged seven goals in just 17 games at Championship level in 2022.

Birmingham City

Another club who look consigned to another season of Championship football are Birmingham City, which could mean a shake-up in terms of the managerial structure at St. Andrew's amid criticisms of Chris Davies from some supporters.

Blues haven't been afraid to flex their financial muscles under Tom Wagner's ownership and have previously spent big on two strikers in the form of Jay Stansfield and Kyogo Furuhashi, whilst also having the likes of Marvin Ducksch and August Priske amongst their ranks.

However, Kyogo, in particular, has failed to aclimatise to the Championship following his summer move from Stade Rennais, and it has been widely reported that the 23-time Japanese international is most likely to depart in the upcoming transfer window as a result.

Despite still having three natural centre-forwards in their ranks if the 31-year-old was to exit, Davies has spent the entire 2025/26 season with four options, and the arrival of Simms would certainly give Birmingham another dimension in their attack with his well-rounded attributes, physicality and eye for a goal.

The B9 club have also conceded twice to the striker in the past, which included a neat finish from close range in the 3-2 encounter at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park on January 4th, and it would certainly please Bluenoses if he was able to replicate such form for their side.